What Lies Within
by Mendeia
Summary: Fate is a Gift Series Part 14: After an attack, Max is separated from Virgil and Norman. In Japan, evil is rising; the Ronin Warriors who thought they had seen the last of war are called to a new battle. But Max is alone, the Ronins are divided, & the gathering dark will bring a storm of suffering & pain in its wake that may mean the end of both teams...and the world.
1. What Lies Within

Hey all! I know it's been a while since I've touched my Mighty Max series, but nothing will keep me from it forever. This time we'll be crossing with an anime known in the US as "Ronin Warriors" but known in Japan by its original name, "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers." For this, you can completely blame my beta. We watched RW together and she pestered me until I got an idea that couldn't wait.

A couple of really, really important notes:

As always, this story is finished and a chapter will go up every week until we're done. It fits in with all my other Mighty Max stories after the events of everything else that's happened – this is canonical to the rest of my fic, and several different stories will be referenced from here on out.

This is also the darkest story I've written in a long time and maybe ever. I'm not kidding, guys. I took Max to some pretty dark places, far worse than he really deserved. If you are likely to be triggered by gore, murder, and a certain amount of torture, message me or leave a review and I'll warn you about what to expect and when so you can decide if you want to proceed. You do NOT have to worry about any form of sexual abuse because you will NEVER get that from me. But there's a lot of nasty things that can be done without involving a sexual element, and I hit what felt like most of them.

At the start of the next chapter, I'll go into more detail about what to expect on the RW side. I'm playing a little fast and loose with that canon, but I promise I have good reason for it.

If I haven't scared you off, thanks for sticking around! Enjoy!

* * *

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

-==OOO==-

It was a perfect evening. The sky was clear and dotted with stars. Max was surrounded by all of his best friends. And the city of Hong Kong gleamed far below like a million jewels piled together. As he kicked lazily through the warm water of the pool on the roof of the hotel, the Mighty One sighed.

"I'd forgotten how good this felt," he said mostly to himself.

"What?" came a familiar voice from his other side. Max turned to where Felix and Bea had swum up.

"This. A night like this. No heroics, no monsters, no saving the world. Just being a kid and having a good time. Just the basics of childhood – nothing fancy."

"Nothing _fancy_ , huh? Just being a kid? And being in the _exclusive_ pool at the most expensive hotel in Hong Kong doesn't have _anything_ to do with it?" Bea asked shrewdly.

"Well, okay, so the butler waiting on us hand and foot is a nice touch," Max conceded. "But come on! How often do we get to live the sweet life this way? And how often do you see Virgil relax? Even Norman's smiling!"

"He is not," Felix countered, peering across the teeming pool of teenagers to the lounge chairs beyond where the massive Guardian reclined very slightly, like a bent railroad tie. Virgil, on the other hand, did look quite content to be sitting there, beak buried in a book as he sipped the tea at his elbow.

"Okay, so maybe not exactly smiling. But Normie never smiles unless there's something to kill, so this is as close as he'll get." His face flickered for a second into a stillness that Bea and Felix were getting more and more used to seeing in him. "I've been working so hard for so long. I'd forgotten what it was to let go for a while."

Grinning at his two friends, Max spontaneously dove back under the water and kicked until he could feel the glass edge of the pool. Opening his eyes through the water, the Mighty One pressed his nose to the clear surface and stared into the open air above the skyline. The glass was probably 6 inches thick, but it was still pretty amazing to be underwater and looking down on an entire city. It was a glorious end to a day spent mostly hanging with his friends and their whole class who were very much enjoying the two-week exchange program to Hong King. Max, of course, had been through the city many times, but never as a tourist – always as a hero in a rush.

Bea glanced to Felix. "He hasn't taken any time off for months, has he?"

"Nope," Felix shook his head.

"Well," she smiled, "I guess as long as the guardians don't seem to mind, I'm not going to spoil it for him, either."

Max came up with a gasp. "Spoil what for me?"

Felix interrupted. "Look! The fireworks are starting."

The celebratory fireworks were amazing, far better than anything Max had ever seen in the US, even if he'd forgotten what, exactly, was being celebrated. But as he leaned his arms on the glass wall of the pool overlooking the city, he felt something stir a slow circle inside his chest. Flinching at the sudden discomfort, the Mighty One reached up to touch his Cap, assuring himself it was there, before turning to look at Norman and Virgil. They remained where they had been at the other end of the pool.

He seemed suddenly very far away from their protective presences, actually. As the cold trickle inside pricked insistently, the boy tried to focus on the fireworks, tried to tell himself he was just being silly.

"Look at that Max!" Bea said abruptly a few minutes later, confusion in her tone. "What do you think it is?"

The Cap-Bearer followed her pointing finger up to the sky where he could distinguish a single point of light that seemed not to belong to any other explosion from the aerial display. The cold feeling inside was spreading now, and Max felt sure something was not right. He again looked to where his Guardian had been and he was somewhat less than surprised to see Norman now standing, face tight. If anyone had better instincts than Max, it was Normie.

"Hey guys, I'm not sure that's part of the show," Felix said finally, staring at the same object that was now growing larger in the sky.

"I think you're right. And I also think we might want to get out of here," the Mighty One said, a tremor creeping into his voice. As his friends hastily backpedaled in the water towards the shallow end, Max felt himself retreating much more slowly. He was sure the thing, whatever it was, was coming closer. Unable to keep the alarm inside at bay, he turned to all the other students and spectators surrounding him in the pool.

"Everybody out of the water _now_!" Max knew in moments of chaos that he could sound like someone to be obeyed, and he was never so glad as in that moment. Almost no one stared motionless at him; rather, most of the kids reacted without thinking about from whom they took the order and began to clear out. Nobody was panicking yet, but the instinctive knowledge that something was dreadfully wrong seemed to be contagious.

"Mighty One?" Virgil called questioningly.

"Get them clear!" he shouted back as he moved quickly through the water to pull a very young girl from where she continued to clutch the edge of the pool. She was not more than five years old, probably with her parents on vacation, and she definitely was looking at the fireworks and not the light that approached from above. She held on to the far edge even against Max's insistent pulling, shouting something in another language.

A scream, high and terrified, shattered the night as the mild chaos broke into full pandemonium. The Mighty One looked upwards just in time to see a shapeless lance of dark light just a few heartbeats away.

The world slowed down as Max did the only thing he could think of: he flung the little girl, who thankfully was quite light, as hard as he could towards safety and began to move in that direction himself. But he knew, even as she splashed into the pool some yards away to be snatched to safety by an adult, even as he stroked through the water frantically, that he would never get clear in time. His moments to escape had been spent ensuring the child was out of harm's way. It was far too late.

With a roar, the strange, panic-inducing thing flashed past the Cap-Bearer, exploding as it struck the bottom of the pool between him and safety. Its concussive blast stole the air from his lungs and made his ears ring, but Max was hardly aware of it. All he knew was the sickening feeling of falling amid broken glass and chunks of concrete and gallons of water now freed from the pool and spilling down the side of the skyscraper like a horrible waterfall.

And with the torrent, the Mighty One fell from the sky.

-==OOO==-

The scene was dreadful.

Red banners and lanterns hung in tatters where they had not been torn up for emergency bandages. Lounge chairs now served as stretchers for the injured and terrified. The empty pool, an artificial crater now made real, still dripped wet in places with both water and blood. Most of the water had gushed away after the explosion tore the once-magnificent building, flooding water and ruble onto the street far, far below. The blood belonged to the many, many wounded from the flying glass and debris that had been sent airborne, though thankfully, none of the injuries were too serious. The Mighty One had seen to that.

"If he hadn't warned people," Felix whispered shakily, "we'd all have been killed. Everybody in the pool would have gone over like he did."

"Max… _oh no_ …" Bea sobbed, her head buried on Felix's shoulder. The long gash down her leg from a piece of cement still needed to be looked at and bandaged, but no one had the heart to pull the girl away. She stood, huddled against her remaining friend in the shelter of Norman and Virgil, mourning bitterly.

"That was the duty of the Mighty One, and his greatest gift," the ancient Lemurian said. He sounded old, very, very old, and every word was punctuated with a grief so profound it seemed to be spelled in his very feathers. "He was selfless to the very end. No matter the cost to himself, Mighty Max would risk everything for another. It was…he was a true hero."

"But couldn't he, you know, be okay?" Felix asked for the hundredth time. "He's always come back from stuff before."

"It's been half an hour," Norman said in a voice that might well have been granite for all the inflection it displayed. "If he could have returned, he would have by now."

"I just don't believe it!" Bea shuddered.

"Neither do I." Virgil hung his head. They stood silently for several more minutes before someone's remaining composure broke at last.

"This is all my fault!" Norman suddenly raged. The Viking had gone from entirely locked-down fury to utterly lost in it. "I should have gone to him the minute I knew something was wrong!"

"Norman, you…you couldn't have known," the Lemurian protested weakly.

"But I did know! And so did he! The Mighty One…" Norman trailed off, powerful emotions warring inside. He wanted to scream, he wanted to beat the ever-living daylight out of anything that moved, he wanted to shed tears of blood, and he wanted to seek revenge. But mostly he wanted his Cap-Bearer back.

As Bea continued to cry and Felix continued to be shocked, as Virgil began to mourn with the soul of one who has loved a charge better than he had ever loved another living being, Norman felt his heart explode within and die. His boy was gone, gone forever and for _nothing_. Not in battle, not in confrontation with Skullmaster, not even with the chance to say goodbye. Mighty Max was dead.

A primal roar tore itself from the Viking's throat. Norman would avenge his friend, his charge, his boy. He would see blood flow as it had not flowed on earth for a thousand generations, and when it was over, he would join Mighty Max at last to keep him company in eternity.

-==OOO==-

Max woke slowly, feeling pain with every throbbing beat of his heart. As he became aware of himself, it seemed that everything hurt – his ears, his head, his chest, his arm, his legs, even his hands. But the hurt was a good thing, and after a few agonizing moments, he relished it. Hurt meant he was alive.

He was on his stomach, he realized, lying on some very gritty, rocky ground, and the sun was very, very hot on his back. Prying his eyes open, the sight of a barren, scrubby land greeted him. Some kind of desert, but no place near home, nor Hong Kong, then.

"How did I…?"

Almost unaware, Max moved an arm that ached painfully to touch the Cap on his head. Of course. The memory of the last terrifying moments came back to him: as he had been falling from the building, the Cap had reacted, meaning a portal was nearby. Though he had had no way of knowing where it would lead, and indeed, some portals led into the bottom of the ocean or in the middle of a glacier, anything seemed better than his imminent death on the ground in a thousand sloppy bits. He had dived for the vortex with every bit of strength left to him, and had fainted almost immediately.

The Cap-Bearer pushed himself to his knees slowly and took stock; he had to know what shape he was in if he was going to have a few more minutes to think about anything else. He still had the Cap – that was the main thing. His head was ringing and he was fairly certain he had at least a mild concussion after the shockwave of the blast. Also, Max seemed to remember his head striking the side of the pool or the building on the way down. No wonder he had a headache then.

He was still wearing only his bathing suit, which meant there was a whole lot of exposed skin to be bruised, cut, and littered with abrasions from his disagreement with a concrete wall and less-than-controlled landing in a rocky field. One long cut stretched from almost his hand to his elbow and was bleeding quite rapidly. He must have used it to shield his face, for there was nothing amiss there that he could feel. His bare back hurt abominably, and he was reasonably sure that he was well and truly sunburned, as he had evidently been unconscious in the blazing sunlight for a while. His lungs ached from having the wind knocked out of him twice, and he had definitely turned an ankle and bruised a wrist landing here – wherever here was – but that seemed to be the extent of it. He was alive and basically in one piece. That was a start.

"Okay, Mighty One, now what?" Talking to himself always made Max feel a bit better.

A conversation held long ago with Virgil and Norman rose up in the Cap-Bearer's mind.

" _If we are ever separated in the heat of battle, say you are cut off from us or fall into a portal by accident, you must return to us as quickly as you can," Virgil said, eyes piercing with the this-is-a-lesson-you-can't-miss look Max knew so well. "Depending on the nature of the separation, it may take you some time to find your way back, especially if you have actually taken a portal elsewhere."_

" _So what do I do then? It's not like I know every portal in the world and where it goes," Max said with a certain amount of exasperation._

" _I know that. Therefore, Mighty One, you must do the best you can. You have already proven to know some portals, those we frequent more than others, and by and large you seem to have a ready grasp of which portals will lead you home. Correct?"_

 _At Max's nod, Virgil had continued. "So our contingency plan is thus: if you are parted from us, Mighty One, head towards your own home. From there, you will either be able to backtrack to us immediately or wait for us to come for you. Also," and here Virgil's eyes had taken on a much more dire gleam, "should anything ever happen to the both of us, my advice is the same. Return to your home, and wait. Destiny will do the rest."_

Although Max had never gotten a clear answer out of Virgil as to what he meant by _that_ , at least he had something to go by.

"Okay. So, head home, then? Trouble is I don't know where I am now," the Cap-Bearer lamented, shakily getting to his feet and looking around. The hot, uneven land seemed to go on forever. Trusting in his famous luck, Max closed his eyes and spun himself around – not a difficult task given how dizzy he already was. When he opened his eyes, he headed as quickly as he could manage in the direction before him, praying that it would lead him to something, anything, that could help.

-==OOO==-

"Norman, I know you're in pain. I know it as well as you do," Virgil pleaded desperately with the Viking. "But you can't do this now!"

"Why not?" came the half-growled answer.

"A blood feud will not help us with our most immediate problems!"

"What problem is more immediate than the fact that the Mighty One is _dead_!?" Norman roared.

"Norman! I feel just as you do, but there are two things we must, _must_ do first!" Virgil said wildly, doing everything in his power to keep the Guardian in check.

A grunt showed that at least for the moment, Norman was willing to listen.

"We must retrieve the Cap. It must have…it must be down somewhere below, and we must lay our hands on it or…everything will have been in vain." The Lemurian swallowed anguish at all the things such a statement meant, all the things he could not let himself feel and endure until his duty was done. At what they might find when they located the Cap, what might remain of its Bearer. Bile rose in his throat at the thought.

"But first, we must make a phone call. It is perhaps our last hope."

-==OOO==-

After the first mile or so, Max lost feeling in the bottom of his burning, lacerated bare feet. The sun was merciless, and his shoulders felt like they were bleeding from it. The air was dry, and the sudden, surprisingly harsh wind drove sand deep into the abrasions on his body.

"I'd rather run a marathon in Skullmaster's domain," he thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he nearly missed a step and had to slide to catch himself. But staying put would gain him nothing and possibly cost him his life. He squinted against the bright sun, grateful at least for the Cap's shade. Although lifting an arm hurt, he touched the brim, as if reassuring himself.

"You haven't let me down yet. I'm hoping you know where we're going," he muttered around the gravel in his throat, not entirely sure if he was speaking to the Cap, the universe, his destiny, or something else. But whatever he spoke to, it didn't seem to be listening.

The minute became what felt like hours, and soon Max's body was at its limit and he knew it. He was no longer bleeding, thankfully, but every bit of his body still hurt abominably, and the sunburn on his back was only getting worse as time went on. Worst of all, his head was spinning and Max knew it was as likely that he was walking in circles as that he was still moving in a straight line.

Just as he felt sure he could not endure another step, the Cap jumped to joyous life in the face of a portal. Max had no ability to consider where this one might take him, but he hardly cared; he fell into the portal and let it carry him away.

-==OOO==-

"Mother of the Mighty One, has the Cap-Bearer returned home?" There was a moment of tense, hopeful silence, and then the Lemurian's whole body seemed to slump inward, grief finally confirmed. "Then, I have grave, grave news."

Norman only half-listened to Virgil's conversation now that all they had feared was true. He felt ready to explode inside, and it was only out of respect for the boy he had lost and the friend who was also suffering that held him still.

"We believe…that the Mighty One…Max…has…fallen."

The pain that wrenched its way past Virgil's beak and into his voice pulled another of the Viking's heartstrings and snapped it. Whoever had done this, whoever had robbed them both, had robbed the world of their boy, _they would pay_. To his dying day, Norman would have blood vengeance for Max. And perhaps, perhaps in the seeking of that revenge, he could slaughter the pain inside that threatened to defeat him as no enemy ever had.

"I'm so sorry, my dear lady. We…couldn't save him. I'm so sorry."

A few moments later, the Lemurian ended the call, turning back to Norman with eyes that burned unshed tears. Norman was too angry, too close to berserking, to offer comfort, but he did nod shakily to Virgil.

"She said just what Felix did – that maybe he survived it somehow. It's…strange, how those who had only rarely seen Mighty Max in such danger feel so certain it could not have taken him. But we, who have known him to escape many times before, know better. I wonder why."

"Because we know better than they that the Mighty One was always human, always just a boy, and more fragile than most. They knew him only as a son or friend and a hero, but we knew him as more. We knew all that he was, all he would be. All he never…" But Norman could not go on. He closed his throat and hung his head as grief briefly quenched the fire within and drowned him.

-==OOO==-

This time, Max tried to focus on keeping himself conscious as he rode through the wild energies of the portal, drawing what little courage he could from the fact that at least he had made it long enough to blindly gamble once more. As the end of the portal came up, he faced it with his eyes open, ready for anything.

Or so he thought. But as he passed through the portal, something disoriented him, maybe the usual head-rush of using the Cap, and his sight exploded into bright colors before fading to grey. He felt himself bump on something relatively soft and cool, but he was beyond even knowing if he was on snow or sand or grass. It hardly mattered – he couldn't have done anything about it.

Movement felt impossible, and for some reason, Max couldn't even care very much anymore. How long he floated lying there he didn't know, but something eventually roused him from his stupor. A voice quite near to his head spoke.

"I know you! You are the Cap-Bearer, are you not? And hurt!"

Max's head was swimming again, and he felt himself sliding down a long, dark tunnel. It was cool there, and it seemed easier. He let himself go, a few words accompanying him to oblivion.

"Do not fear. I will take care of you. Rest, Mighty One. You are safe now."


	2. To Love the World

Let's talk about the Ronin Warriors.

First of all, my initial exposure to the series was through the English dub (the one on Cartoon Network). While I later explored the series from the original Japanese side, the English was always what stuck with me because that's what I knew first, particularly when it comes to character names. So I'll be using the English names for the characters (Cye instead of Shin, etc.).

However, I am a lot more fond of the original Japanese guiding virtues rather than the English translation (does ANYBODY know why they moved Wisdom to Sage and gave Rowen "Life" 'cause I've never figured it out?). Particularly, I am most fond of the translation that goes like this: Ryo of Righteousness, Sage of Grace, Rowen of Wisdom, Kento of Justice, and Cye of Faith.

I am also working more from the original Ronin Warriors backstory from the canon. This means that most of the guys were not friends – some hadn't even met – when they began their war against the demon Talpa. I'm also taking their ages and some of their personality traits from the original canon rather than the dub, which means, no, Rowen does NOT have an inexplicable Brooklyn accent and he's extremely intelligent as he should be.

Finally, this story takes place instead of the OVAs. I gotta admit, I am not fond of any of the three OVAs that follow the original anime. The first one is just...sorta empty; the second one has some good character development but that gets overshadowed by some uncomfortable casual racism (and lack of pants, but that's a rant for another day), and the third just drove me bonkers. The most valuable thing out of all three OVAs, in my opinion, is the examination of Cye's doubt about the nature of the armors and their purpose in battle. So I'm going to preserve that part and develop it myself and make this officially an AU where the OVAs never happened. So there. Ha.

Enough notes? I hope so!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Only a soul full of despair can ever attain serenity and, to be in despair, you must have loved a good deal and still love the world." - Blaise Cendrars

-==OOO==-

The scene on the street was pure pandemonium.

Even though most of the water from above had drained away into the sewers and down the sloping road, the destruction was evident. For the length of a city block, it looked as though a tidal wave had struck. Cars were smashed by the combined force of water and debris, glass was everywhere from the perhaps hundreds of windows that had broken as the torrent pulled at them, and the injured were many. Innocent bystanders, people who had been walking, biking, or driving, lay up and down the sidewalks, often in areas only quickly cleared of debris, some holding bleeding limbs, some unable to hold anything anymore. Flashing emergency lights made the wet and shard-laden pavement eerily beautiful and utterly terrible at once.

"Where is he?" Norman rumbled, his rage just barely controlled. It took Virgil another moment of standing at his tallest to look around before reaching the same conclusion as his companion – their boy was nowhere in sight, and there was no sign of the Cap either.

"Well, I…I don't know," he stuttered. The Lemurian turned and peered upwards, the height of the building forcing him to crane his neck quite far. "The angle and trajectory wouldn't suggest that he would have been thrown very far, either into the building or away, I don't think."

"Then. _Where is he_?" Unconsciously, Norman drew his sword. His vision was narrowing, his focus intense. Virgil recognized the warning signs and put a feathery hand on the arm holding the weapon.

"No. Let me check my scroll. Maybe…maybe…" Hope blazed up in his chest as he fumbled at the scroll that was their best chance for the Mighty One. He searched through it as quickly as he could, eyes alight. "There!"

"What is it?" Norman asked quickly. The fury that gripped him was not quick to dissipate, but if there was even the slightest possibility of his boy being alive somewhere, he could contain it long enough to listen to reason.

But Virgil's face suddenly fell.

"What is it?" Norman repeated.

"There is a portal here, a few stories up, that he must have fallen into," Virgil began, using the tone of voice that usually meant he was working out how dire a situation was in his head while speaking. "It leads to one of the most barren regions of the Namib Desert in the southwestern portion of Africa."

"So he's alive?" The Guardian grit his teeth as hope warred against rage within.

"Yes, but…" Virgil met Norman's eyes and held them, his own refilling with sorrow, "there's only one portal for miles there, and incredibly sparse human habitation. If he misses that single portal, he could wander the desert for days. The conditions…Norman, even _if_ he's not hurt, even _if_ he only fell and didn't get injured by the explosion, nobody can survive alone in a desert for long without a lifetime of experience. He could have landed in the middle of a sandstorm, or he could be targeted by any number of wild creatures. And if he _is_ hurt…"

"So you're saying it doesn't matter?"

"I'm saying," and Virgil took a shuddering breath, "that even the Mighty One can't survive that, not without help. And the chances aren't good. He's probably still alive now, but for how long?"

"Then we go get him. _Now_." Norman sheathed his sword and started walking, every muscle pulled tight. He heard his Lemurian friend scrambling behind him, but nothing would slow him. There was the chance that his boy was alive. He would rather die a thousand times than leave Mighty Max any longer than necessary.

"What about this attack? Norman, someone obviously intended violence here tonight, possibly targeting the Mighty One specifically. And that was no conventional human weaponry. We...we should investigate!" Virgil scuttled along, trying both to keep up and sound commanding.

Norman ignored him.

"We have spent thousands of years helping to protect people in anticipation of the Mighty One's arrival. What if the world is in peril? We...we cannot turn our backs on what has happened here so easily."

" _Watch me_."

"Norman!"

"Virgil, I am the Guardian! I am sworn to protect the Mighty One with my life. And he is in danger _right this minute._ There is _nothing_ you can say that will stop me from my duty." He stopped for a moment and looked down at the diminutive fowl beside him. "Find me the fastest way there or I go without you."

Virgil began to argue, then sighed. His sense of justice demanded he act on the events of the day, but his heart, and his duty as well, drove him to agree with the Viking. Besides, the fate of the world was still, as always, in the Cap-Bearer's hands, and they could do little better than rescue him, wherever he had been taken.

"All right. Here's what we must do."

-==OOO==-

Everything was too much effort. Max couldn't think hard enough to figure out why, but he did know it just didn't feel worth it to try anything. There was a nagging feeling he should be doing something. Doing what?

"Please wake up and drink something, Mighty One. You must take some water or you will get sicker," a voice came to him. It was familiar, vaguely, and it sounded worried.

Max felt his head tip up, and liquid trickled against his lips. The fog in his mind cleared enough for instinct to take over, and he gulped greedily. When the water was withdrawn, he felt himself lie back down, a new clarity coming to him.

Wherever he was, he was lying on something soft. He hurt everywhere, but the pain dully winked at him from someplace far off. He felt sure he should be worried about something, that this fog was bad for him, but he couldn't figure out why it should matter.

Sleep threatened, and Max slid away.

Into a garden.

"Wow. Some dream," he thought, gazing around happily at the bright sunshine, colorful flower-beds, and a flowing stream. "Where are the dancing girls?"

But apparently he was speaking aloud, because he was answered. "Come this way."

Max froze at the sound of the gentle voice. He could make out a vague shape on a bridge arching over the stream, and without anything better to do, he obeyed. The bridge was larger than it appeared, and by the time he stood across from the figure, he felt as if he stood not on a little stone path but on a huge span over endless falling water.

The mist obscured the figure even up close. Max squinted. "Who are you?"

"I am...something of a cousin to you, Mighty One." The figure that emerged was that of a tall young woman with long, flowing dark hair wearing impossibly elegant robes that swirled around her and vanished into the mist.

"No offense, but I've only got one cousin, and he's definitely not you," Max said.

The woman, her indigo eyes smiling though her face was still, let out a small sigh. "We do not share blood, young one. But our peoples once shared a magic far more important."

"Uh, okay. So, why am I here in this weird dream, then?" Max wanted to know.

"I am beyond the bounds of your world, and this is the only way I can reach you for now," she said. "I bring you a very important message. An ancient evil has reawakened from where it should have been left dead for all time. Within you lies the key to stopping it from bringing great and terrible harm to the mortal world."

"Yeah, I know all about that 'harm to the mortal world' thing," Max said. He meant to sound light and nonchalant, but he was quite serious as he met her eyes. "Can you tell me anything else about this evil? Like maybe how to stop it?"

She delicately shook her head. "I cannot, for even I do not know how to undo what it has forged. There will be help for you to seek out, but that too will come at a price."

Max found himself looking at his feet. "I'd rather go in on my own, thanks. I've kind of had it with others paying the price just for trying to help me out."

"I would council you more had I the time. For now, let me tell you this, Mighty One: in the hearts of those who are pure and good, there will always be help for those who serve as heroes. Fear not the gifts that are offered to you, nor those you bear within."

Max half-nodded, half-shrugged. "Okay. Thanks."

Then, as the scene began to fade into more fog, he looked up suddenly. "How will I know this wasn't all just a crazy dream?"

The woman's soft smile was the last of her he could see. "You will know, Mighty One. Now go as quickly as you can and save your world from that which waits to devour it."

-==OOO==-

Half a world away, five young warriors had already heeded the battle's call.

Ryo Sanada stood on the rooftop looking over the city and feeling as if he couldn't breathe.

"It just shouldn't be possible!" he ground out angrily. "How can this be happening again?"

"He's been gone a year," Sage Date said beside him in a low voice. "Perhaps that's the best we can hope for."

On Sage's other side, Cye Mouri let out a heavy breath. "Is this it, then? Nothing for the rest of our lives but battling the evils that will never die?"

"Maybe," Kento Rei Fang nudged him. "I know you're not as fond of it as the rest of us, but what else can we do? We can't let evil win!"

"Kento's right," Rowen Hashiba said. "Whether it happens one more time or a thousand more times, our place is here – between that and the rest of the world." He had his eyes fixed on the swirling black clouds dripping with a feeling of menace so heavy the population of Toyama was already in full retreat.

Ryo agreed; of course he did. How could he not? But he also knew he wasn't the only one a little reluctant to take that one more step forward. Already the five of them had fought two wars against the same evil that seemed determined to rise again and again. They'd suffered and nearly died. They'd lost allies along the way. They'd bled and burned.

And for everybody who wasn't the bearer of the Armor of Wildfire, burning was not actually a good thing.

Ryo's eyes fell on the others. He took in Sage's steady calm, Cye's regret and resignation, Kento's protective anger, Rowen's thoughtful observation. If Ryo had to guess, he'd say the only person really eager to fight was Kento – Kento was always up for a good battle, moreso when he knew he was fighting for the right thing. And on the other hand, Ryo figured Cye was the only one really steeling himself for a battle he might have fled if not for his part in their connection.

 _One who wants to fight and one who really doesn't_ , he thought. _And three of us who aren't thinking about whether or not we want to because we've got to. Yeah, this is not an ideal start to another battle_.

He suddenly wished White Blaze was here – the presence of the tiger always settled him when the world went crazy. But he'd sent White Blaze to make absolutely sure that their friends Mia and Ully were safely back at Mia's family house far from the city. And this time Ryo had Mia's word she'd _stay_ there no matter _what_ Ully said. He knew all five of the Ronins would be able to focus and fight better if they absolutely knew their friends were safe.

"Listen," Ryo said, feeling their eyes shift to him. "I...I don't know what's going to happen down there. But...if we gotta head into another war..." He felt something draw a smile to his expression that was fed by warmth that had nothing to do with Wildfire. "If we have to do this again, there's nobody else I want at my side more than you guys."

Rowen and Kento winked at one another and Sage nodded with a small answering smile. Ryo looked to Cye. The least outspoken of them all, and also the eldest of the five, Cye had a habit of being a little on the fringes of their battles and their discussions, and yet his impact was sometimes the most important.

If there had been any doubt of that, it died with the finishing blow he'd struck against Talpa a year before.

"I don't want to fight," Cye confirmed after a moment, "but I won't leave you to face this alone, any of you. We're still a team, right?"

"Right," Kento told him. He slung an arm around Cye and gave him a shake.

Ryo nodded. "Then let's go show those guys what that really means."

But as the five jumped from the rooftop to head into another battle, Ryo couldn't help but wonder, _Does Cye doubt in us_?

-==OOO==-

Once Virgil had decided to follow through on tracking down the Mighty One, it took him less than an hour to arrange for a flight from Hong Kong to Johannesburg, booking them online at a kiosk at the airport. Without the Cosmic Cap, Virgil and Norman were well used to traveling the globe via various means, from the mundane to the downright creative. Over the years they had stowed aboard every type of moving vehicle known to man, they had bought tickets of every variety, and they had begged, paid, and bartered transit on everything from horses to hot air balloons.

The fact was that Virgil and Norman spent the vast majority of their lives on the move these days. At the end of every adventure with Mighty Max, the pair would return him to his own home, sometimes remaining nearby either if there was a risk of upcoming danger or to continue to teach and train and guide the boy as he moved deeper into his role as a proper Hero. Sometimes they stayed long enough that they left with him for whatever required the presence and powers of the Cap-Bearer. But most often they would set out alone and journey to some remote spot on the globe, sending the boy a mysterious summons that would bring him to them to repeat the cycle.

When Norman, quite rightly, had asked why they didn't just stay with Max all the time so they could stop "the random global commuting" as Max called it, Virgil's answer had surprised him.

"The Mighty One needs us more and more, it is true. And for that reason it is more important than ever that we leave him alone whenever possible." He'd looked away, his voice low. "The time will come when all his days will be lived beside us, when we will call him from his own life and make him into a wanderer like ourselves. But until that day, he deserves as much of his youth and his home and his friends and what passes for a normal life as we can offer him."

Norman understood that; he'd seen it himself. When Norman and Virgil were with Max, even at home, on some level the boy was always the Mighty One, the Ordained Cap-Bearer. Even playing video games or taunting Virgil, he was still the Mighty One. But when they left before an adventure, while Max might begin preparing himself for what he knew must be about to come, he could relax for those precious days as well.

As he had been at the hotel in Hong Kong.

Norman's glare was so off-putting even the security agents in the Hong Kong airport flinched. Of course, that might also have been the sword.

Virgil ignored him with the ease of centuries of practice and instead produced the documents that showed Norman to be an international air marshal, or a secret service agent, or a military escort, or whatever it was this time that would permit him to bring his weapons and armor onto the plane. Honestly, Norman neither knew nor cared how Virgil did it. He was just glad it worked. It was either that or they would have to pay for private transport more often.

And while money wasn't a problem, any time they had to splurge their funds for a chartered flight, Norman had to hear about it all the way to the next portal.

Norman was also just as glad it had never occurred to the Mighty One to ask where all their money came from. Because if he ever found out that they had healthy bank accounts and supplemented their nomadic ways via Virgil bending his tremendous brainpower to what he called 'exercising probability' and everybody else called 'gambling,' well, then there would be a whole new series of lectures. Which was, Norman thought, entirely unfair. But, leave it to Virgil to be proudly disdainful of the 'evils of gambling' to their young ward while also amassing a small fortune at every track and casino and bookie and private poker game and everything else worldwide.

Even if Virgil did use all of it for keeping them one step ahead of evil, as he regularly reminded Norman when Norman pointed out the hypocrisy.

Norman knew Virgil would empty the bank account if he had to in order to get them to the Mighty One as soon as possible. And Norman was perfectly willing to do worse. Experience had taught him that people moved a lot faster when motivated by a sword in their face.

But the one enemy Norman couldn't hurry, couldn't force, was time. It was almost fourteen hours from Hong Kong to Johannesburg, and another few from there via a small plane to the nearest landing strip to the part of the Namib where Max's portal would have let him out. It had been two hours already. They would be closing on eighteen hours of Max alone in the desert before Norman could get to him at the very best.

Eighteen hours without food or water.

Eighteen hours with who knew what sorts of injuries.

Eighteen hours without shelter, possibly not even conscious to defend himself from scavengers and predators and the brutal desert heat and cold.

Norman's frown cleared an entire boarding line as he shoved his way through the tiny doors of the airplane and took his seat, his expression so twisted with fury the passengers were almost afraid to pass him to reach their seats. Virgil knew not to try to talk to him, not now. Norman's rage was contained, and that was all he could have asked of the Guardian.

 _Survive, Mighty One. Just survive. We're coming_.

-==OOO==-

Sage ran easily with the others. Even without the sub-armor, they could outrun almost anyone – lifetimes of athletic study and what Rowen called their justified paranoia had kept them all in top shape. Besides avoiding any attention as they dodged the crowds and used alleyways and rooftops to move across the city, there was a tacit agreement in play not to activate even the sub-armor until they really needed it.

But they couldn't help but be aware of the presence of the armors.

The little talisman felt heavy in Sage's pocket. Even through fabric he could feel it, pulsing with power and need. He'd been studying quietly around sunset when it had suddenly flared brightly, the symbol of his guiding virtue lighting up like a beacon. Sage had had an uneasy feeling all day – this had been nothing short of a direct call to arms. He'd been on his feet and heading out the door before he'd even wrestled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Ryo as fast as he could.

"I know!" Ryo had shouted into the phone, obviously also running. "I'm already on my way. Meet you with the others on top of the apartment building."

There was no question which apartment building. There was only one where Ryo had almost died inside Talpa's armor.

By the time Sage had gotten to the building in the heart of Toyama, Kento and Rowen were already waiting on the roof, looking with fixed expressions at the turmoil in the darkening sky that seemed centered over Toyama Castle. It had only taken minutes for Ryo and Cye to appear, the former out of breath from having to run a much longer way, and the latter already closed down and serious in every line of his body.

It was Cye who had said, "It's Talpa. I'm sure of it."

And no one could argue, because they all felt the same. Another quirk of the armors – that uncanny sense for one another.

 _I know Cye doesn't like fighting_ , Sage thought as he followed Ryo around a corner and down a deserted side-street, _but I wonder if this is more than that. I wish I knew better what he was thinking_.

Sage still found it strange to think that most of the five Ronin Warriors were more strangers than friends to each other. Rowen and Kento had known one another from childhood, and even if they hadn't been close, they had that history of association to draw upon. And Kento and Cye had taken a strong liking to one another right away as well, the outspoken and the soft-spoken balancing one another. Rowen had made a point of keeping in contact with the others since the second war, sending regular emails and calling almost weekly to check in on each of them. About once a month, Rowen and Ryo had cajoled and taunted and annoyed the others into joining them for a get-together dinner somewhere (knowing food was the quickest way to get Kento to agree, and Cye was the one Kento would bother for a ride). Sage hadn't been as outgoing in the same way, but he was comfortable with the other four, open to their attempts at socialization.

But for all that, they still weren't really close to one another. _Or_ , Sage thought suddenly, _maybe we're too close. Maybe once you've merged your spirits, trusted one another with your lives, walked into certain death side-by-side, maybe there are some doors you just can't open afterward. Maybe it's unrealistic to think that Cye would willingly bear his heart to those who have seen him broken_.

It left Sage with a vaguely discomforted feeling. Cye's guiding virtue was Faith. _Maybe the most difficult one of all to live out as one of us when we trust each other with our lives and yet perhaps keep our thoughts to ourselves_.

But then Sage smiled. His own guiding virtue was Grace _. Cye stands with us. And perhaps to be trustworthy, we must continue to keep our own faith in him_.

Suddenly Rowen caught Sage's eye and nodded sharply. Clearly the bearer of the Armor of Strata had lost none of his keen perceptiveness. Rowen had followed Sage's every thought via observation alone and apparently agreed.

Across from them, Cye flinched suddenly. If Sage hadn't been following Rowen's gaze, he wouldn't have caught it at all.

 _But something is wrong. Something more than Cye not wanting to participate in another battle. And I think Rowen knows what it is._

Sage opened his mouth to speak, and Rowen nudged him sharply.

 _Rowen definitely knows. And for his own reasons, he has decided not to pursue it yet. I wonder why_.

Rowen's guiding virtue, Wisdom, had never let them down before and all things considered, this was probably not the best moment to pursue the issue. Sage was forced to practice some of Cye's trust in his fellow Ronin Warriors and follow them both into battle without an answer.


	3. The Test of Gold

Hi guys! I'm glad for those of you who have been reading so far. On the other hand, I haven't yet hit the stuff that would scare any of my brave readers away. That's still in the future...but not too far now...

Enjoy!

* * *

Fire is the test of gold; adversity of strong men. - Seneca the Younger

-==OOO-==-

Mighty Max opened his eyes.

Before he was even fully aware of the fact that he was awake, his hand flew to his head. The Cap's presence reassured him and he felt a potent wash of gratitude.

"Gonna need this, if that dream was anything to go by," he said to himself. "Or maybe it was only a dream?"

And then Max blinked.

He was lying on a small, narrow bed in what was obviously a disused room of some kind. He thought he recognized the woodwork lining the ceilings and door-frame – Eastern European, maybe. There were piles of discarded bandages spilling out of a box to one side, brown and stiff with dried blood. On the floor beside the low cot were bottles of medicines. Max couldn't read the language on the labels, but he knew the tube of aloe by its scent alone. There was also a heavy pitcher half-filled with water.

As Max reached for the cup beside the pitcher and moved to fill it, he noticed that his arms and hands were whole.

Sitting bolt upright, Max took stock.

"No cuts?" He rotated his wrist. "Not sprained, either." He reached around to run fingers over what he could reach of his back. "And no pain. No sunburn." He raised the blanket off himself to look at his clean, unblemished feet. "And I _know_ those were bloody and burned and disgusting."

Which left only one possible conclusion. "Something healed me. And if it wasn't that lady in my dream, I'll eat my Cap."

Max still felt thirsty, so he retrieved the cup. Only when he lifted the pitcher did he see the note pinned under it, written in slightly shaky English.

" _Dear Mighty One. My brother and I am asleep but may you wake us if you need anything. Our father will not be home for a small many days, so do not worry about have to explain. Rest and get well. Your friend, Sarra."_

"Sarra," Max thought. Then he snapped his fingers as he remembered. "That guy with the crazy name! And that gooey monster that absorbed everybody. I'm in Schlepak!"

Max pushed the blanket completely to one side, swinging his feet to the ground as he gathered up the cup, filled it with water, and drank it down in one long gulp. He drank two more cups before deciding to get up, not wanting to drink too much too fast. But his feet were steady under him and he felt utterly fine as he padded across the smooth wooden floor and gently pushed the door open.

The cottage was quiet, pale moonlight filtering through some partly-open blinds. Max spotted a clock hanging in the hallway – it was almost 1am local time. He did some quick mental math. The attack in Hong Kong had been sometime after nightfall, but then he'd been whisked to a desert where he'd wandered for…he had no idea how long. Then he'd portaled here. Max guessed this area was about four hours off from Hong Kong by time zone. That meant he had probably been in the desert at least three hours and asleep for twice that.

Max knew if it had been the other way around, he wouldn't have made it to the portal at all.

Max explored the cottage silently, finding the pair of siblings asleep in their rooms but otherwise no one about. He raided the fridge at the sudden insistence of his stomach, deciding to leave them a note of thanks and apology when he left. Then he snuck into what looked like an office of some kind.

"I'll have to come back and pay them back, too," Max sighed to himself as he picked up the phone and began to dial.

His mom answered on the first ring. "Virgil? Is that you?"

"No, mom. It's me, Max."

" _Max_!" his mom exclaimed. "Oh, _honey_! Are you all right? After Virgil called me, even though I felt sure you'd be okay, I was _so_ _worried_ –"

"Mom!" Max cut her off. "Virg called you? What did he say?"

His mom took in a long breath. "He told me that you had…that he thought you were...gone," she said.

 _That's what I thought for a while there, too_ , Max didn't say aloud. "Is he okay? What about Normie?"

"They're fine, sweetie. They're on their way to the Namib to find you, if I understood Virgil when he called me from the airport. Honestly, I didn't know he could talk so fast!"

"They're going where? Oh, never mind. I've gotta find them. I'm in Europe now."

"They're on a plane, Max. It'll be hours before they're on the ground again," his mom said. "It's just as well. I don't want you anywhere near East Asia right now. What happened to you in Hong Kong isn't even making the news with everything else going on."

Max's instincts kicked into high gear. "Why not? What else happened?"

"They're not really saying – you know how those news people are. But there's some kind of city-wide magnetic or electrical disturbance. It's been going on for hours, probably since you called me before you went to dinner."

 _Ten hours_ , Max thought. _Maybe twelve. I can't wait for Virg and Normie this time. From what that lady said, it might already be too late_.

"Honey, can you get home from wherever you are?" his mom was asking.

Max shook himself. "Uh, no, mom. I, uh, I gotta go."

" _Max_!" his mom yelled. "You had better _not_ be thinking about heading into Japan right now with whatever is going on! You head _straight home_ , do you hear me, young man?"

Max sighed, then buzzed into the phone. "No _shhhhhh_ mom I _sssksksksks_ hear you _shhssssssssssss_ bad connection. Love you!"

He hung up, absolutely certain he wasn't getting an allowance ever again.

But even more certain that he was making the right choice.

Though Max was now in a hurry, he forced himself to take the time to do things correctly. First, he woke Sarra and Jakub. Sarra was overjoyed to find him so healed, and though she and her brother were curious about how it could have happened, they understood there were some things Max couldn't explain to them (which got him out of having to admit that he couldn't entirely explain them to himself, either). That was the advantage of being dumped here, he supposed – it was one of the places on earth he had friends who not only knew him as the Mighty One, but had been through the impossible with him once before and had some practice with his unique job.

Max borrowed some of Jakub's clothing and sneakers, cringing as he admitted he might not be bringing them back at all, let alone in one piece. Jakub grinned and reminded Max that he owed the Cap-Bearer his life and his second-best jeans and sneakers were an easy price to repay. While he got dressed, Sarra packed him a backpack of everything she could think of that he might need from sandwiches to bandages to a few flares she stole from the garage.

Then Max settled down at the family computer, both siblings looking on.

"I'm going to leave you a couple of phone numbers," Max said, tying busily. "One's for the hotel I was staying at in Hong Kong. You need to get ahold of my teacher and tell him I'm okay. Also, see if you can talk to Bea and Felix – they're my friends and they'll be worried. After that, I need you to call the airport in Johannesburg."

"Why Johannesburg?" Jakub asked.

"That's where Virg and Norman will be. From what my mom said, they'll be landing at the airport in, uh, maybe six hours. You need to make absolutely sure the airlines give them the message that I'm okay and where I'm going."

"All right," Sarra nodded solemnly.

"And where are you going?" Jakub wanted to know.

It took only a quick search for Max to answer. "There."

He'd pulled up a map from a news site about the 'strange occurrences in Japan.' They were centered over a city called Toyama.

"But how will you get there?" Jakub asked.

"One second."

Silently, Max blessed Bea's forethought. A month or two prior, she had borrowed (though he called it 'filched') Virgil's portal map for long enough to make a copy. Then she'd not only emailed him the copy, but she'd also started work on a computer program to help him identify the quickest route between any two places on Earth – something Virgil could do at a glance, but normal humans didn't have his crazy brain for math. The program wasn't done yet, but the map was still in his email where he could access it from anywhere on the planet. With a few minutes of concentration, he had a path to Toyama that avoided any long delays like 50 mile hikes across Australia. There would be one place he'd have to crash through a private garden wall, but that was nothing.

"Is there anything more we can do to help you?" Sarra asked as she pulled one of her father's old coats from the attic and offered it to him.

"No, but thank you," Max shook his head, accepting the coat. "You already did a ton. And I promise to pay you back for the stuff and the long-distance phone charges."

"Be safe, Mighty One," Jakub said shyly.

"Do you even know what lies ahead of you?" Sarra looked at him worriedly.

At the threshold to the house, Max shrugged. "Evil. Same as always." Then he smiled wickedly. "But what's ahead of me isn't nearly as bad as what I'm going to do to whatever decided to ruin my vacation."

And Max waved to them before striding out into the moonlit night alone.

-==OOO==-

As the first rays of dawn fought to get through the clouds that hung heavy in the sky, Kento ran his hands through his hair. "This is _not_ what I was expecting!"

"None of us were," Ryo told him softly.

The five Ronin Warriors had closed into the heart of the city, following the river towards Toyama Castle. But as they'd gotten closer, something strange had started to occur. The Ronins were usually the only ones running _toward_ danger. But with every block nearer to the Castle, the crowds seemed to get thicker. They'd thought at first that people were panicking and running the wrong way, and for almost an hour the five of them had stopped moving forward and instead tried shepherding people to safety.

Then Rowen had realized the same people were walking away but coming back. It seemed the closer the people got to the Castle, the more confused they became about where they were supposed to be, about what exactly was frightening them.

And then the Ronins came upon people in their pajamas and robes, people who had obviously left their beds in the middle of the night to join the masses.

That's when the fighting had begun.

Driven by a mindlessness the Ronins could only guess at, the crowds of people turned from awkwardly shuffling in confusion to suddenly grabbing for them like tortured souls seeking redemption. Their expressions were all locked in horrified grimaces even as hands became claws grasping for the Ronins who seemed to be the only ones immune.

Even Kento had been sickened when the Ronins had no choice but to at least don their sub-armor to protect themselves.

"They're innocent civilians!" Cye had cried. "We can't hurt them!"

"We won't," Ryo told him. "But we can't let them hurt us, either!"

The long hours until dawn had been spent fighting not to injure the men and women and children who chased and reached for the Ronins like zombies. They'd fled to rooftops where fewer could follow and had tried to keep moving towards the Castle, but every step forward seemed to be answered by dozens sideways or backwards to avoid having to hurt someone whose only crime was being mind-controlled by whatever evil was saturating the area.

Finally taking shelter in a deserted courtyard hidden in the center of several darkened buildings, the Ronins allowed themselves to rest for a few minutes.

"I know you're thinking it," Sage said, glancing at Rowen. "It's like what Talpa did before."

"Yes, but not exactly," Rowen shook his head. "Then, Talpa brought out the evil in people to feed his own power and made them fight each other. This...this is more like stealing their willpower and turning them into his own army."

"Well, it's working," Kento said grumpily. "I had to shove a grandmother!"

Cye was crouching with his back to the wall and his head down. "We can't do this. We can't hurt innocent people."

"We're trying not to," Ryo squatted beside him. "But we have to get through them to find out what's going on. And if it is Talpa, then stopping him is the only way to save them."

A single shaft of early morning sunlight speared through a window somewhere and glowed against the shadowy cement around them. Sage moved to sit where it fell across the sub-armor on his shoulder, sighing gratefully. Kento smiled knowingly and sank down in a corner where the natural rock had been left to artfully poke through the pavement. They exchanged glances with Rowen who was standing on a bench.

It had long been their greatest asset – the three of them were almost always within reach of their elements. With sunlight to recharge the Armor of Halo, the earth to strengthen the Armor of Hardrock, and the very air and sky above to sustain the Armor of Strata, the three of them usually had the easiest time making it through a lengthy ordeal. When their elements were near, the armors could heal damage and injuries and offer almost unflagging energy to the wearers. Ryo's Armor of Wildfire did well in any kind of heat or flame, and with the way their battles tended to go, he usually got his fill either by things blowing up or things burning down. It was only Cye they had learned to keep an eye on, to watch carefully for fatigue, because the Armor of Torrent, while completely unbeatable when submerged, was vulnerable for long stretches without exposure to some kind of fresh or sea water.

For all that, no one could ever remember Cye or Ryo saying a word about their lack of elements, no matter how bad it had gotten during the wars.

"Let's just rest for a little while – until the sun comes up," Rowen suggested. "With more light, we'll be better able to evade people."

"Or by that time even more of them will be taken by Talpa," Kento grumbled.

Ryo's sub-armor creaked as he shifted. "That's not the positive attitude I'm used to from you, buddy."

"Yeah, well," Kento looked away. "Beating up old ladies isn't doing wonders for my sunny personality."

Ryo nodded solemnly. Kento's guiding virtue was Justice. No wonder it was bothering him to be faced with so many civilians, innocents in a war that they couldn't begin to protect themselves against, and left with few options but to run away or cause harm. Ryo's own guiding virtue, Righteousness, wasn't holding up so well, either.

It was Cye who took a deep breath, visibly reining in his own feelings. When he looked up, his eyes were clear with conviction again. "We can't focus on what Talpa has done. We have to focus on _un_ doing it. Talpa wants us to doubt ourselves, to be weak where it counts." He put a hand on Ryo's chest.

"Cye," Ryo said, but he let Cye finish.

"We _are_ going to be strong enough to save these people. We haven't lost anything and we aren't beaten even if we feel sick by the gauntlet he's set up. This is Talpa's plan. Don't lose sight of that. We've got to be stronger than what we feel inside if we're going to do some good."

Ryo's eyes warmed and a familiar light appeared within them. "You're right, Cye. Thanks."

Cye smiled and the other Ronins all felt themselves relax a little. Whatever else was troubling him, Cye had not lost track of his own Faith, and he had not given in to whatever doubt he was keeping to himself. As long as Cye could keep Ryo focused and positive, the rest of them could find their own way.

 _That's it_! Kento realized, feeling slightly stupid for having missed it before. _When there's no water, Cye recharges his armor through Faith instead. And Ryo does it through Righteousness. The virtues have the same effect as the elements, but since they come from inside us, they're easier to find in a pinch_.

Ryo surged to his feet, his determination renewed. "I say we start now. The longer we sit around, the more people Talpa can endanger. We need to get ahead of him if we can."

Cye rose too, smiling at their impulsive leader. "I'm ready when you are."

Kento felt a grin break out over his face as he jumped up. "Yeah! Enough of a breather. Let's get in there and see if Talpa has the courage to face us for round three!"

Sage glanced up – even the brief respite had allowed a bit more sunlight to peek through the swirling cloud-cover above. "No time like the present, I suppose."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rowen asked. He jumped, the sub-armor allowing him to bound easily up the side of the building to its roof, the others on his heels.

But as they looked out over the city with better light, they froze.

Castle Toyama was visible in the distance – a clear place where no skyscrapers invaded the grounds of the historical spot. The crowds of people had not thinned, but now they appeared to be largely motionless, a sea of bodies forming a physical barrier on the streets and sidewalks stretching in all directions around the boundaries of the Castle's lands.

On the rooftops nearest the Castle, the Ronins could make out the forms of Talpa's soulless Dynasty soldiers scattered about.

"They don't look right to me," Sage said suddenly. He peered at the nearest of the minions he would never forget, even if he could never remember exactly how many of them he had dispatched in the two wars. "Something's…different about them."

"I think so, too," Rowen said. "But it's hard to say what from so far away. Let's get a closer look."

The Ronins bounded across a few rooftops, eventually coming to a halt only a handful of buildings from the outermost ring of Dynasty sentries.

"They look as ugly as ever to me," Kento said, shrugging. The grey-green armor hadn't changed one bit from what he remembered demolishing by the dozens not that long ago.

"No, there is something off about them," Ryo commented. "But I guess we won't really know what it is until we meet one."

"Up close and personal," Rowen agreed.

Cye glanced across at them. "Talpa already knows we're here. He's always been able to sense our armors before."

Sage nodded at him. "Then there is no point in going in without a little more strength at the ready." He didn't miss the slight tightening of Cye's expression though he met Sage's eyes calmly.

"Works for me," Ryo said. He reached for the power within and stretched out his hands. "Armor of Wildfire – Dao Jin!"

"Armor of Hardrock – Dao Gi!"

"Armor of Halo – Dao Rei!"

"Armor of Strata – Dao Chi!"

"Armor of Torrent – Dao Shin."

The mystical armors snapped into being, wrapping around their bearers with the heft of familiarity. The armors themselves weighed nothing to those who were worthy to wear them, in spite of the sturdy otherworldly metal that comprised them. The armors were also what Rowen called 'semi-conscious' and what Kento termed 'kinda alive but not.'

Having once been part of Talpa's own demonic armor prior to being broken into nine pieces and turned to the side of good, the mystical armors still retained a certain spirit within them. When held in check by the human virtues the Ancient One had used to bind them, the armors were largely dormant, obeying their bearers and sublimating most of their own independent will such as it was. But there was no denying that the Ronins were keenly aware of that will, aware of a pull that was not their own, living within their armors.

And they all knew, one way or another, that it was only the human virtues that kept the armors from reverting to their evil roots, sinking back into Talpa's shadow. When the Ronin Warriors battled Talpa, they fought not only his might and power, but themselves, for they must remain on the path of good or risk being drawn with their armors to destruction.

Empowered far beyond normal human abilities, the Ronins prepared for battle only to spot a commotion below them in the streets.

Ryo was moving before he knew he was going to do it. He jumped from the rooftop to the ground, landing in a sudden clearing amidst the crowd of vacant-eyed civilians. They had been shoulder-to-shoulder only a few moments before, but had scattered when a blast of light and energy erupted from thin air.

However, the instant Ryo stood amongst them, the people charged him, clawing with bare hands and wild expressions.

"Get back!" Ryo ordered, drawing his twin blades not so much to use them as to keep them from being pulled away from him in the chaos.

"Wildfire!" one of the Ronins yelled from above, and Ryo knew his team was on their way – if they could find a clear spot to land.

Ryo bit the inside of his cheek as he swung out into the crowd, painfully aware of his heightened strength and speed. He had to pull his blows very deliberately or risk killing the civilians who couldn't help themselves. But as they pressed in closer and closer, he realized he was going to be swamped.

"I'm really sorry about this," Ryo whispered. Then he concentrated on Wildfire and his armor began to heat.

People around him screamed and stumbled backwards. With more room, Ryo turned his blades around so the deadly edge faced away from the crowd. The people had proven they could be hurt or knocked out, and he'd rather do that at the length of a sword.

Ryo had just taken out three or four civilians, including a child – his heart aching at the bruise he left behind – when a heavy weight hit him from behind.

"Hey! Pick on somebody your own size!" shouted an angry voice.

Ryo spun to meet the threat, and his head reeled for an instant. It was as though he'd stood up too fast, his vision swimming. But that didn't stop him from launching himself at the threat, swords extended properly.

"Whoa, you're fast! But kinda dumb!"

Ryo crashed straight into a lamp-post.

"Come on, pal. You got the horns for it. Wanna play Bulls and Matadors, round two?"

Ryo saw the shape taunting him jump nimbly on top of a car and from there to the roof of a bus frozen where it had parked. His head was ringing and his eyes felt strange and he wanted to _fight_.

"Ryo, don't do it!" Kento was yelling from somewhere behind him. But Ryo was already lifting his swords. The Wildfire Flare would handle whatever this thing was.

"There's too many people!" Cye shouted "It's not what you think!"

Ryo barely heard himself calling on the Armor of Wildfire's attack. He swung the katanas downward as fire exploded around him and his blood sang.

The energy of Wildfire surged forward – and vanished.

"My turn!" Rowen was suddenly beside Ryo, and Ryo could clearly see his friend's face. Rowen's expression was closed, focused, almost curious.

"Stop, _please_!" Kento bellowed as he struggled through the crowd. "Don't you see?"

Rowen wasn't listening. He drew back his bow, a golden arrow shimmering with the power of Strata.

The Heaven's Shockwave flew true and straight towards the target – and also vanished.

Ryo was bracing himself for another try, hoping Rowen would combine his powers to Wildfire's and then they would be _unstoppable_ , when suddenly Kento was right in front of him.

"I said stop it!" Kento grabbed Ryo's arms in a crushing grip. "That's _not_ one of Talpa's goons!"

Ryo blinked.

Cye was at Kento's side, facing Rowen. "Open your eyes and really _look_!" he commanded.

Rowen smiled faintly. "Don't worry about me. I already figured it out. I just wondered if my attack would have any effect since Ryo's didn't."

Ryo shook his head, feeling as if he were coming out of a trace. "What…what is it?"

"And," Sage stepped up behind Ryo and Rowen, "why couldn't our armors hurt him?"

Standing on the bus, the unknown figure frowned darkly. "I don't have time to play with you. But if you keep beating up civilians, I'm going to have to _make_ time!"

Ryo blinked again. The crowd of people around them had thinned. In fact, the street was clear almost to the next block. He was seized with sudden fear. "Did I—?" He couldn't finish it aloud. _Did I annihilate them_?

"No," Kento shook his head. "They started making a run for it as soon as whoever that is showed up."

"Hey Ryo," Rowen said, pulling his attention away from their opponent. "Do you remember how the Ancient One's staff wouldn't hurt Lady Kayura because she was of his Clan?"

"Yeah," Ryo shook his head again and felt the fuzz in his mind continue to recede. "You thinking maybe that's why our attacks didn't do anything?"

"It's possible," Rowen shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"Then that means whoever that is must be human," Sage concluded.

"Why did you attack?" Cye asked, looking piercingly at Ryo.

Ryo looked at his hands. "I…I don't know. I just…it felt…"

"I felt it too," Sage said. "If Rowen hadn't stepped up, I would have."

Ryo swallowed thickly. "The urge to fight...it hasn't been that strong in a long, long time."

"I wonder if Talpa learned some new tricks," Sage said. "A new way to influence our armors through their link to him."

"I think the better question," Rowen looked at Cye and Kento, "is why didn't you two or I react the same way? How did we know the difference?"

Kento grimaced. "The whole thing felt like Dais to me. I've tangled with him enough times, I'm starting to get a sense for illusions before they take hold. They used to trick me but the Armor of Hardrock could tell the truth. This time it was kind of the other way around."

Cye nodded slowly. "Torrent itched to fight, but I didn't."

"Well, whoever that is, they got a bunch of the humans out of the way," Rowen said. "And from what I saw, the humans didn't just shuffle off – they woke up from whatever is happening to them and ran away willingly. So that's one more point in favor of not belonging to Talpa."

"We're going to have to wait on finding out, though," Sage said wryly.

Ryo looked up in confusion.

The figure had vanished.


	4. Courage and Faith

Hiya! Sorry this is a bit late. Anyway, it's time for our heroes to start making nice.

Also, I LOOOOOOOOOOVE White Blaze. He is the BEST.

Also also, Max quotes a line from one of my all-time favorite MM episodes, "The Axeman Cometh." I think that episode might just encapsulate everything I love about Max.

I think that's about it for now.

Enjoy!

* * *

A man of courage is also full of faith. - Cicero

-==OOO==-

"Always good when the bad guys talk to themselves," Max grumbled as he dodged and weaved through the crowd. He had no idea why the giant fireball and the weird blast of light hadn't hit him, but he wasn't about to take it for granted. And he _definitely_ didn't want to give them another chance and see if his luck held out again.

Max glanced up. He was no stranger to mindless crowds of people, unfortunately. This time, thankfully, it appeared that there was something he could do about it. Like the beam of a flashlight beating back darkness, it seemed that anyone within about a thirty-yard radius of himself woke to their senses – which usually meant momentarily freaking out before running for their lives.

Extra bonus thankfully, they did that when they were already _behind_ him, so he wasn't impeded by the panic.

"I wish Virg were here," Max grumbled to himself. "He'd know if it was the Cap or something about me or just one guy not under all that crazy evil influence making it better. Then maybe there would be a way for me to get more people out of range."

Max wished they were both here. Virgil would have been able to explain what had happened back with those five armored guys, too; Norman would have had fun fighting them. And there seemed to be no shortage of guys in armor around, though most of it wasn't quite as Technicolor. Still, all of it gave him the creeps. Max had a pretty highly-evolved sense for evil now, and if his gut said 'Look out for yuck' he listened to it. Plus, those rainbow-y guys had been hitting the people. Before firing on him, of course.

"Three strikes and I'm outta there," Max muttered.

He wished he knew what was going on. The whole Castle of Darkness thing was pretty clear, a classic bad guy sign of Evil This Way. But without knowing what the evil was or how to stop it, Max was feeling pretty small. He didn't have Norman's strength to defend him and do the big fighting. He didn't have Virgil to advise him.

But Max had himself. And he'd been working too long and too hard to let anything stop him from trying his best. After all, he'd saved the world with a lot less before.

A sudden clanking was the only warning Max had before the street cleared entirely of civilians – and not all of them due to waking out of their trance – to be replaced by dozens of the armored guys that made Max's skin crawl. These guys were all uniform grey-green and shadowy, and all uniformly menacing, too.

"Let me guess," Max quipped. "Auto Body Shop Club?"

One in the lead began swinging a chain with a wicked-looking blade on the end of it.

"No?" Max was taking a cautious step backwards, weighing his options. "Uh…Railroad union?"

Whoever or whatever was inside the suits of armor had started grumbling and growling and moaning, their voices low and unsettling. More were brandishing weapons and beginning to inch forward.

"What I wouldn't give for a giant magnet right about now," Max huffed.

He spied a mailbox to one side that should give him the height to reach the top of a street sign that seemed to mark the edge of the city before it gave way to what looked like a park. If he could get up there, he figured he could possibly even run along their heads if he had to. It was hard to see what waited beyond the armored crowd, but he'd just have to jump off that bridge when he got there.

The lead goon let fly his weapon and Max dodged to one side. He used the momentum to carry him to the top of the mailbox and from there to the sign. He pulled himself up and balanced on the narrow pole, looking down on a sea of creepy armored soldiers.

"Anybody got directions?" he called cheekily down to them. His eyes scanned them for a spot to land to begin his rush forward.

Max never saw the second blade flying through the air. He felt the pole beneath him shake for an instant and then it fell, cut neatly in two. Max braced himself for a nasty fall to the unforgiving pavement below.

And bounced on something soft.

"Huh?" He blinked. "Are you a…tiger?"

As if falling and landing on a white tiger _much_ larger than any Max had ever seen before wasn't strange enough, the tiger actually turned to look at him as if it understood.

"You saved me?" Max asked, still blinking his way through the situation.

The tiger wuffled at him before turning to the armored minions who had been moving steadily closer. Max started to slide from the tiger's back, but its ears flicked back sharply.

"Okay, big guy. I get it," Max shifted until he was riding astride it, setting his weight just behind the front shoulders where he hoped he wouldn't be hurting it. "You want me to stay on."

The tiger tensed, lowering its head and rumbling a deep warning in its chest. Max closed his hands on the thick fur before him.

An instant later, one of the armored soldiers attacked, charging forward with a sword. While Max held on for dear life, the tiger neatly sidestepped the attack and struck with one enormous paw, cracking the armor as though it were made of paper. To Max's astonishment, when the armor cracked, black wispy smoke rose up and the armor collapsed as if a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"They're not people," Max said as he leaned his weight to one side to help the tiger pivot for the next incoming attack. "They're like shells."

The tiger roared and pounced on an incoming knot of the soldiers, easily breaking them open and leaving them to dissipate as it moved forward. Max reached down and scooped up a spear from the ground as they went by.

"If you're gonna help me out, the least I can do is return the favor, right?" Max grinned.

The tiger was poetry in the air, a force of strength and unflagging energy as he tore into the armored soldiers in the street. Max was able to contribute as well, covering the tiger's off side and back by poking at the soldiers with his pilfered spear. It took him some practice, but he eventually found he could get the armors to collapse if he got the spear to hit in the shadowy void where their eyes should have been. He didn't have the strength to crack the armor, and he was fighting one-handed as well, but he managed a few dead-on strikes nonetheless.

After what seemed like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, the tiger crushed the last armored warrior beneath its feet. It growled at the form that fell and did not rise and Max patted its flank as he finally dismounted.

"Nice going, buddy. I am really impressed! Can I keep you?"

The tiger considered Max for a moment, and even though he was staring into the face of one of the fiercest predators on earth, Max felt safe. The feeling was reinforced when the tiger suddenly licked his hand and butted his stomach with its massive head.

"Well, that proves it," came a voice from the street.

Max looked up in alarm. The five colorful armors were back. These ones, instead of having shadows for eyes, looked human.

"Yeah," the red one glanced at the orange one who had spoken. "If White Blaze likes him, he has to be a good guy."

"Stay back!" Max ordered, flipping the spear up and holding it out in front of himself.

"We're not the enemies here," said the one in the dark blue. "We're human and we're fighting the evil like you are."

"No way," Max shook his head. "I can _smell_ the evil coming off you guys. You can't fool me!"

"It's complicated," said the one in the light blue armor, "but you have to believe us. We're fighting for the same thing you are."

"We'll explain everything," said the one in green. "But let's get somewhere safer first."

Max shook his head again and brandished the spear. "I came here to do something. I'm not letting you trick me into leaving when I've come so far."

Suddenly, the tiger beside Max reached up and caught the spear in his mouth. Slowly, he pulled it out of Max's hand.

"Buddy?" Max asked softly. He was confused, and starting to feel a little betrayed. "You want me to trust them?"

The tiger sighed gustily through its nose and let the spear fall.

"His name is White Blaze," said the one in the red armor. "He's been my friend for a long time."

Max shut his eyes for a moment. On the one hand, he wanted to believe them. The tiger felt safe to him, and it had saved his life. And, frankly, Max didn't want to be out here alone against legions of armored warriors.

But on the other hand, there was just a feeling he couldn't shake. A _bad_ feeling.

Suddenly the ground beneath his feet started to tremble. Max lurched backwards, off-balance and caught by surprise.

"Look out! There's a barrier!"

Max was expecting to land on the grass that been behind him where the road ended and the park began, but before he hit it, he bounced into some kind of wall. He knew though, in that split-second, that it wasn't really a wall.

Because walls couldn't shoot lances of dark power like arrows through his body.

Max screamed and the world went black.

-==OOO==-

The Ronins could only watch, horrified, as the barrier around the Toyama Castle struck the unknown boy with a blast of energy that set all their hair on end. The one who had evaded them and deflected their attacks hung pinned to the barrier like a butterfly under glass. They could see his eyes droop closed, but still his body jerked and shook as the dark power tore at him.

It was White Blaze who overcame his paralysis first, throwing himself into the barrier with a guttural roar.

"White Blaze!" Ryo cried, shaking off his feelings and charging forward with the others at his heels.

Against the lancing, searing power, White Blaze got his great jaws folded around one of the boy's arms. Then he threw them both away from the barrier, twisting in midair to catch the boy against his side rather than slam him into the pavement.

"Are you alright?" Ryo knelt beside his tiger.

White Blaze huffed at him. Then he looked down at the boy and nuzzled his head.

It was only then that the Ronins realized the boy was much younger than themselves. The heavy coat and backpack had somewhat hidden his size, and the hat he wore had obscured his features in shadow. But now, with him unconscious before them, they could see that he was younger than they had been in the first war with Talpa, perhaps by a few years.

"Older than Ully, though," Kento said softly.

Sage looked up at the barrier and the darkened Castle grounds beyond them. "I know we're in a hurry, but..."

Cye nodded. "We should see what this new stranger has to say before we continue."

"I'll get him," Rowen offered.

He was stretching to hoist the boy into his arms when the boy's hat, which had seemed plain and unremarkable, suddenly sparked to life, glowing slightly. Rowen froze with his armored fingers a handspan from the boy's shoulder.

White Blaze growled warningly.

"Okay. Don't touch the hat. Got it," Rowen said.

White Blaze huffed again and released the boy's arm from his mouth – totally unharmed, of course.

"Where to?" Kento asked as Rowen carefully got the boy into his arms.

Ryo gestured. "We'll take shelter in one of the abandoned buildings back there for now." He took point, leading the way cautiously through the street. The lane was thick with the empty shells of Dynasty warriors, and none of those on the surrounding rooftops seemed in a hurry to join their fallen brethren.

Sage and Cye took up rear-guard, leaving Kento beside Rowen. Kento looked over the kid. "So, what's up with that hat?" he asked.

Rowen shrugged. "To be honest, I have absolutely no idea."

Kento's eyebrows raised clear up behind his helmet. There wasn't a lot in the world Rowen had no idea about.

They had backtracked to well beyond the point where Ryo had fired at the boy when the hat he wore suddenly crackled with light and power again. Rowen held still, not sure what to do. The other Ronins closed in around him – ready for anything, but mainly watchful. But the hat just glowed joyously.

It was only when Rowen took another cautious few steps forward that there was a sound like distant thunder and a stream of pure energy shot from the hat to create a whirling magical spiral in midair.

"Huh," Kento said. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Some kind of portal or gateway to somewhere else," Sage confirmed. "That's probably how he got here, anyway. Even if it doesn't tell us why he came."

"Actually, I think that's pretty obvious," Ryo said. He tipped his head upwards at the swirling clouds above. "He came for the same reason we did."

"Well," Cye said, noting that the portal had closed itself after several moments, "let's get somewhere out of sight, and when he wakes up, we'll ask him what he plans to do about all this."

A few more blocks on, they found a store whose front door was standing open but whose grate had been pulled down for the night, obscuring the interior. It meant they could hide and lock the door behind them without having to break into anyone's property. It was a shoe store, so the flat benches with stiff red pillows on them would have to suffice for the kid's bed for a time.

Once they were all inside and the door shut and locked, the five Ronins released their armor to return to just the sub-armor, instinctively conserving their energy.

"Now what?" Kento wanted to know. "We just wait for him to wake up?"

Ryo was nodding to say yes, but apparently White Blaze had other ideas. The tiger, which had barely left Rowen's side while he held the boy, rose up with his two front feet on the bench beside the kid's head. He bent and started licking the slack face quite vigorously.

"H...hey!" the kid started to splutter.

Actually, as far as Max was concerned, there were a _lot_ worse ways to wake up than a bath by a giant tiger. Still, he almost rolled off whatever he was lying on to get away from that warm, coarse tongue that seemed determined to spread as much smelly saliva as possible on his face. It was only the reflexes which had been honed in the strangeness of his life that during his flailed tipping sideways he was able to get his feet under him and land in a crouch.

Max felt that chill again and looked up to the five guys he'd seen before, now without the big shoulder-pads and weapons. He tensed. "Who are you? Why'd you bring me here?" Then he glared at the tiger. "Why did I ever trust you?"

To his surprise, White Blaze dropped from the bench, padded around to Max's side, and pushed his forehead into the crown of the Cap. Max felt a frisson of power go through him, not unlike the same power that had been at Stonehenge, or up at Mount Ararat. There was deep, old magic here, the same that spun the stars and wove the portals and flowed through Max when the world needed it most. It was heady and steadying and restored a pool of calm and confidence he had been missing since he had realized he was going into danger alone.

"Wow," he breathed at the tiger. "Okay. Got it." He glanced at the five around him. "So you're saying I should trust them, too? Even though the creepy vibes could give Skullmaster a rash?"

White Blaze bumped his head again and huffed warmly.

"Good enough for me," Max decided. He stood, letting one hand rest on the tiger's shoulder. "So, hi. Uh, I'm Max." He took a breath before adding, "I'm the Mighty One."

"The who now?" Kento asked.

Max frowned. "Never heard of the Cap-Bearer?"

Five heads shook.

"Oh. Well, then we'll just go with 'I'm Max,' okay? So who are you?"

Ryo smiled. "We're the Ronin Warriors."

Now Max shook his head. "Never heard of you, either. But then, I've never saved the world in Japan, either."

"You've saved it other places?" Cye wanted to know.

"Yeah. It's what I do."

Sage cleared his throat. "Please forgive us for our rudeness. I am Sage of Halo." He gestured to each as he named them. "This is Ryo of Wildfire, Cye of Torrent, Rowen of Strata, and Kento of Hardrock."

Max peered at them for a moment. "So, what's up with the evil armor?"

"Why do you think it's evil?" Rowen asked carefully.

Max shrugged. "Look, you been through a couple of end-of-the-world runs and you kind of get a sense for it, you know? Evil artifacts and stuff." He thought of the Jar and suppressed a shiver. "It's just a feeling."

"The armors aren't evil," Ryo said staunchly.

Max noted that the one named Cye flinched at that, but no one else seemed to be looking at him.

"They were originally created from an evil source," Sage said, "but they were imbued with human virtues to purify them." He frowned. "As long as the armors aren't corrupted, they shouldn't really seem evil to you."

Max shrugged. "I call 'em like I see 'em."

"Let's talk about something else," Kento said, having caught Cye's expression a moment later. "How come you're here? And not, you know, zombified like everyone else?"

"Well, being here is what I do. When the _world is in peril_ ," he said it with Virgil's exact inflection, missing the Lemurian with a sharp pang, "the Mighty One is called upon to save the day."

"Then where were you last year?" Ryo wanted to know. "Where were you for the last two wars with Talpa?"

"I dunno. I don't have superpowers that tell me _when_ the world is in peril. I get summoned by my, uh, teacher who knows practically everything about everything and I go." _Or, usually I do. This time I just up and went because a crazy dream told me to_.

"And how do you expect to fight the evil here?" Rowen asked.

Max frowned. "However I can. Mostly I make it up as I go along." Then he peered at Ryo. "So, if this happened before, I take it you guys did the fighting? So why don't you tell me what's going on here and we'll go from there?"

It was Ryo's turn to shrug. "We're not entirely sure. Other than that it's Talpa, we don't know any more than you do, I guess."

"Who's Talpa?"

Cye answered him. "Talpa was an Emperor of the Netherworld, an evil demon from another dimension. He came here a thousand years ago to take over our world, but was defeated and destroyed. The armor he wore, though, was too powerful to be completely eradicated, so it was turned into our armors to try to combat its evil nature. Then, a couple of years ago, Talpa came back to claim the armors and become powerful again. We fought him several times and we thought we'd finished him for good."

"Yeah. Apparently not," Kento grimaced.

"Okay." Max leaned on the tiger. "So...what's the deal with you guys? Why do you have the armors? And why does he," he rubbed the fuzzy head at his hip, "want us to be friends?"

"Like I said before, that's White Blaze," Ryo said. "He's...he's been with me a long time. I used to see him as a kid, and when I first received the Armor of Wildfire, he came and stayed."

"You know he's not a real tiger, right?" Max asked.

Ryo nodded. "I figured. He's too smart to be just a regular tiger. I never figured out if he's a spirit or something else, though. He just...came to me when I needed him, I guess."

Max looked down at White Blaze, petting the head as he spoke more to himself than the others. "So...let me guess. You guys got chosen one day to wear this ultra powerful armor even though it's extremely dangerous and puts you in the path of every crazy who ever crazied. At least in Japan. And it's your sacred duty to defend the land from evil. Right?"

He didn't look up. He knew the feel of that silence. "That's my deal, too, except apparently I've got a wider travel radius than you. And fewer weapons."

"Then how can you expect to win against the forces of evil?" Sage asked quietly.

"Well, usually I've got this Guardian who watches out for me and handles the fighting while I handle the world-saving. But he's...it's complicated." Max shook himself and looked up. "I'm here now and I'm supposed to be here. I'm not going to back out just because everybody else in the game showed up wearing a tin can."

Beside him, White Blaze snorted.

"Well, personally, I think he's got a point and we should get back out there," Kento said. "We're not doing anything productive sitting around again."

"Wait," Rowen held up a hand. "This isn't like last time. We need to figure out what's happening before we wind up in over our heads."

"Why don't you tell me what's different?" Max suggested, absently ruffling White Blaze's fur.

"The Dynasty soldiers aren't the same," Ryo said. "They go down a lot easier."

"I noticed that as well," Sage nodded. "It doesn't take as much effort on our part to crack them open and force the evil spirits inside to dissipate."

"The people being turned into zombies thing is new," Kento added. "Last time, Talpa sort of made them go crazy, but they weren't under his control or something."

"I think you've all missed the biggest difference," Rowen said suddenly. As they all turned to him, he shrugged. "Since when does Talpa use a mortal castle as his stronghold?"

"You're right," Ryo said, eyebrows rising in surprise. "For that matter, he was always stuck in the Netherworld until he opened the gate to the Earth when he possessed all nine armors. Even that castle in the sky wasn't quite in this world yet. But this time…"

"Is it possible it isn't this Talpa after all but some kind of copycat?" Max asked.

It was Cye who shook his head. "Our armors are linked to him. There is a…resonance we can feel."

Max frowned. "Okay. So if your guy's doing things differently this time, do you know _how_ he's doing it?"

"Not yet," Rowen shook his head. "We haven't seen any sign of the others, either." To Max, he explained, "There are nine armors in total. The other four bearers went back to the Netherworld after our last fight."

"Too bad," Kento sighed. "We could really use them right about now."

"We can do this on our own," Ryo said with sharpness in his tone. "But that raises a good question. If Talpa came back, he should have been stuck in the Netherworld like he was before. And there's no way Kayura and the others wouldn't have let us know if they were fighting him again."

 _Virgil would have some kind of explanation, I bet_ , Max thought, tuning out the Ronins as he considered. _This is going to be a lot harder without him knowing everything for me. But he's at least five more hours from landing in South Africa, and even longer before he and Norman can turn back around and head this way_. _I wonder if I should go meet them there._

But the feeling of evil was so strong here. Max didn't want to leave this place for long, not when the clouds and the darkness they carried was spreading ever wider and thicker around him by the minute. He'd already missed the first chance to keep things from getting worse.

 _If we haven't cleared this up in five hours, I'll go find them_ , he decided.

Four of the Ronins had entered into a spirited debate about how it was possible for Talpa to have returned at all, let alone reach the mortal world – but Cye was watching Max. He guessed that Max was probably a year or two younger than Ryo had been at the start of the first war, and he clearly hadn't hit any kind of growth spurt yet, either. His clothing looked worn, and it didn't quite fit him right between the oversized coat and the slightly-too-small sweatshirt. But the stubborn, tense set of his shoulders and the shadows in his eyes showed that, despite appearances, he was not young when it came to battle, not unused to his role.

"Hey," Cye said softly, sliding away from the others to approach him. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to. We've taken on Talpa before. We can do it again."

Max shook his head. "If I'm supposed to be here, there's a reason for it. I can't just hang back and hope it turns out okay." Then he winced. "No offense. I'm sure you guys can handle it." Then Max looked more closely at him. "You _are_ sure, right?"

Cye glanced to his team. "We've beaten him before. Ryo is very strong, and we're all with him. I'm not worried about that. We'll find a way."

Max caught something Cye didn't say and decided to ask. "Then if you're not worried about that, what _are_ you worried about?"

Cye huffed ruefully. "You're sharp, kid."

White Blaze rumbled. Cye looked to the tiger and saw in those deep eyes a kind of understanding. He glanced back over his shoulder; the other Ronins were still arguing, though Rowen flicked a look to Cye before returning to the group. Cye was grateful. _Rowen's going to let me work this out on my own. That's easier than having to hear about it from the others_.

"You said that you can tell our armors are evil," Cye said quietly, not wanting to draw attention back to himself. "Well, so can I. And the more we use them, the more obvious it is to me. And the guiding virtues…well," he looked away. "I wonder if they're really strong enough to keep the evil at the root of the armors in check."

Max looked at him for a moment before answering. "The demon of violence is in each of us. It cannot be stopped by more violence. It cannot be killed. But we can recognize it, control it, and channel its energy."

Cye was startled and Max shrugged. "Virgil, my teacher, said that to me once. We'd just been fighting a literal spirit of violence. And he was pretty un-killable."

"Talpa's a demon, not a spirit," Cye said.

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Max said. "He's weaker because you've sucked some of his mojo into your own armors, right? But you gotta pay the price for it."

"Essentially, yes."

Max frowned suddenly. "So, they're bound by 'guiding virtues,' you said?"

Cye nodded. "Yes. For example, the virtue of my Armor of Torrent is Faith."

Max considered. "Then your armor is as strong as your Faith, right? And if you had, I dunno, _perfect_ Faith, well, it wouldn't be very evil at all." He caught the set of Cye's expression and understood. "But that's hard to do, so the evil creeps in. And especially with something like Faith, it's hard to keep up believing in yourself when you've got evidence right there that it isn't working out so well."

Max took a step away from White Blaze and moved to Cye's side. Cye couldn't seem to get words past the sudden lump in his throat. When Max stretched a hand to press against the sub-armor's chest-plate, they both flinched.

"What are the other virtues?" Max asked softly.

Cye took a deep breath before he could say, "Ryo is Righteousness, Sage is Grace, Rowen is Wisdom, and Kento is Justice." Cye was never so acutely aware of his armor's double-nature as in that instant with those guileless blue eyes meeting his.

Max nodded. "No wonder it's tough for you. The others are easy. They just _are_. Faith is something that you have to earn, and it's something you have to put _in_ something else."

Cye didn't necessarily think that was true, but he wasn't feeling up for a philosophical debate over the nature of the virtues themselves. So he just said, "I have Faith in the five of us."

Max could feel the armor react to that statement, could see a flash of light on Cye's brow.

"Sure," Max said. Then, barely louder than a whisper, "But maybe what you really need is Faith in _yourself_."

And before Cye could feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, Max stepped back and waded into the argument between the other Ronins. Cye swallowed thickly. _Well, he's certainly spotted the root of my concern. And if he can see it, it can't have escaped Rowen and maybe Sage. But they haven't said anything. If they can believe in me…maybe it will be enough to get us through this. And then we'll work on the rest later_.

"Well, as fun as this has been," Max peered up into the four faces around him, "we're not going to learn anything new about how Bubba out there is doing all this by sitting here. And if you're out of ideas, maybe we should go get some information."

Ryo grinned at 'Bubba.' "You feeling up to it?"

Max rolled his shoulders once. "Yeah. That barrier thing packs a wallop, but it's no biggie." He glanced to White Blaze, an unreadable look on his face.

But Ryo understood. _White Blaze healed him, or at least stopped the pain. Otherwise he wouldn't be on his feet yet_. Ryo thought of several times throughout the wars that White Blaze's presence had seemed to revitalize not only himself, but particularly Mia and Ully. He'd always wondered if it was a deliberate act on the part of the tiger or something more complicated.

"I'm curious," Rowen said. "If we weren't here, what would you do next?"

Max tipped his head, thinking for a moment before he answered. "Well, I'd try to sneak into that castle somehow. There might be a portal onto the grounds – I don't know. I'd have to check my email to be sure. Otherwise I'd have to find a way around that barrier."

Sage nodded. "Then what?"

"Then…I guess it depends what I found inside." Max sighed. "I probably can't beat whoever is behind all this in a straight-on fight. I'd have to figure out how they were doing what they're doing and ruin it for them or else find a weakness to use. Usually I just kind of wing it."

"Talpa doesn't have a weakness," Kento shook his head. "We barely beat him before."

"Then, clearly he _does_ have a weakness," Max answered sharply, "or we wouldn't be here talking about you winning already. I just have to find it for myself."

"I'm not _entirely_ sure it _is_ Talpa," Rowen admitted quietly. "I know what we all think, but I'm just not sure."

Ryo looked at him. Between Rowen's natural intelligence and his virtue of Wisdom, he was particularly in tune with his instincts and leaps of insight, often having to do with how disparate facts fit together. "If it isn't Talpa, then it's still gotta be connected to him somehow or we wouldn't feel the pull."

"I know," Rowen nodded. "I just don't believe it for sure yet."

"We'll figure it out," Cye said, stepping up behind Max. "Between all of us, we'll find our way through this."

Kento grinned at him. "There's my buddy! Where you been hiding, Cye?"

Sage interrupted before Cye had time to formulate an answer. "We need to get to that castle. How would you use a portal if you had one? Since I'd rather not have to try to break that barrier if we can help it – it's never gone well for us before."

Max pointed to the Cosmic Cap. "This thing opens portals all over the world. They're fixed in place, like stops on a subway, and this is my ticket. But we need a map to plot out how to find the right one that would dump us on the other side of that barrier."

"And that's in your email?" Ryo asked. At Max's nod, he smiled. "Okay. Well, good thing we know a friend with a computer nearby."


	5. Two Edges

No national historical sites were harmed in the writing of this chapter, but I maintain that the turrets of El Morro really do smell AWFUL. Or at least they did in the 90's.

Enjoy!

* * *

The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder. – Virginia Woolf

-==OOO==-

Max and the Ronins had decided to try to sneak out of the city in order to evade any unnecessary fighting, so it took them the better part of an hour to get to where the clouds finally began to lessen their oppressive cover. The six of them were almost all the way to the edge of the city when a horde of the Dynastic soldiers finally appeared.

"Oh, fun," Ryo grimaced. "Guys, we're in a hurry! Can't you go rust someplace else?"

The soldiers charged with a roar.

Almost at once, the five Ronin Warriors were separated to battle crowds alone. They called their full armors and launched into the fray eagerly. Meanwhile, Max stayed back with White Blaze, studying his new allies as much as his opponents.

 _They're good_ , he nodded, watching them cut through the empty armors. _And they almost act together even if they aren't looking at each other. The armors probably help align them, since they're from the same batch_. _And those armors are nothing to sneeze at, either. If Normie were here, he'd probably want one for himself!_

Then he was forced to abandon his critique as a few of the soldiers turned to attack his own position.

"You know," Max said, narrowly dodging an incoming arrow from one of the rooftops above, "you goons really know how to wear out a welcome!" He grabbed for one that was already swinging at him, pulling its weight with his momentum to crack it into the two that had been advancing from behind.

Suddenly White Blaze roared and Max spun to see that the tiger had been pinned by several of the soldiers working together and lashing it to the ground with their chains.

"Hang on, buddy!" Ryo yelled. "I'm coming!"

"Look out!" Max tried to warn him.

Another dozen or so soldiers had been crouching out of sight behind the melee, and when Ryo got close enough, they all erupted around him. Their chains flashed and though Ryo cut through the first few, he couldn't evade them all. One chain tripped him up and soon they were tangling him in a metallic net.

"I'm coming!" Max yelled, sprinting from his spot towards Ryo. He was so focused on getting to the bearer of Wildfire, he failed to notice a set of the soldiers lining up a full barrage of arrows behind him.

"You look out!" Kento's cry echoed in the darkness.

Ryo was the only one near enough, and even he was too far away. That blast of arrows was headed straight for Max and Ryo would never get himself out of this tangle and to him in time.

 _I can't let Max die._

 _Righteousness_ lit up inside him and burned on his forehead.

Ryo had a crazy idea, and he could only hope his armor knew what it was doing, or _he_ knew what _it_ was doing, or something. With a wrench of power, Ryo threw the Armor of Wildfire from himself, directing it forward. He knew it wouldn't act on its own, but it could at least absorb the blow and protect Max like a shield.

What he could never have expected was that Wildfire would instead wrap itself _around_ the Cap-Bearer and deflect the blast entirely.

"Whoa!" Max shouted as his whole body was suddenly engulfed in a pulsing, living power that was both solid and fluid, as though it were always moving and yet diamond-hard. He blinked, looking down at his armored hands.

"Well, that's a new development!" Sage quipped with a grunt as he slashed a leg from an armored Dynasty warrior.

"Now what?" Max called. He noticed he was not wearing the Wildfire helmet – just his own Cap. He was okay with that – those helmets looked heavy.

In fact, the whole suit looked heavy, but now that he was wearing it...

A fierce grin lit up Max's face and he took an experimental leap. Sure enough, he could jump as high as the nearest building, and it felt effortless. Max landed on a rooftop high above, which gave him a perfect view of the battlefield. Including that one guy who had been shooting at him. Max was no hand-to-hand combat expert, but he was plenty practiced enough to make another leap across to where the minion stood and kick him really hard right off the roof.

"Score one for the kid!" he yelled triumphantly. The rush of the armor was like a blaze inside him. He could fight _anything_! He wanted to fight _everything_!

"Max!" Cye called from below. "You have to remember!"

"The armors are both good and evil!" Rowen shouted. "You cannot let yourself lose the guiding virtue of Wildfire or you will be drawn down into darkness!"

"Righteousness," Max said aloud. And with a sudden shock of heat, he felt the armor shift around him. The exuberance melted a little and left him suddenly aware of the fact that his new friends were all fighting for their lives below.

"Right. Gotcha," Max said to himself. And then, with a slightly abashed groan, "This is great and all, but I really don't know what I'm doing and..."

Ryo yelped in pain as one of the chains lanced across his unprotected throat.

"And I bet he can make way better use of it than me!" Max finished.

He jumped back to street-level, knocking a few goons around as he did so. The rush, the headiness of the battle now felt bitter and cold in his mouth. He fixed his mind on Righteousness and made his way back to Ryo.

"How do I give it back?" Max asked as he cleared the area around the real bearer of Wildfire, helped by Rowen expertly launching his own arrows into many of the soldiers that surrounded them.

"Cut me loose," Ryo said. Max did so with the strength of the armor that let him snap the chains like twigs.

Ryo rolled his shoulders, grateful not to have them wrenched so awkwardly. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Max nodded, trying to ignore the bellowing of White Blaze from not far away.

"Then I can do the rest." Ryo wasn't quite sure _what_ he was doing, but he and Wildfire had always understood one another well. The armors all had a little bit of a will of their own, and the Ronins were largely in sync with those wills, but Ryo was particularly like his own armor. It had never let him down yet.

He let Righteousness fill him up, let himself burn with the intensity of the drive that had led him to victory over Talpa, even knowing it would mean his death. He opened his heart to Wildfire, trusting that they still belonged to one another.

The armor dissolved into a bright haze, which left Max's body and returned to Ryo.

"Neat trick," Kento said as he stomped over, "but we'll do the replay later. We got work left to do!"

Ryo turned at once to get to White Blaze, but Sage was already there, expertly slicing him free and eliminating those who had captured him as well.

"I've about had it with these guys!" Max complained.

"Me, too," Ryo told him, feeling the familiar warmth of Wildfire settle around him. "Let's end this!"

The other four Ronins answered his call and abandoned their own individual battles, joining Ryo in a small circle facing outward in all directions.

"All together!" Ryo called. He spared an instant to push Max into the middle of their circle and each of the Ronins unleashed their powers.

Max stood amid the fury of the Wildfire Flare, the Thunderbolt Strike, the Wave Smasher, the Heaven's Shockwave, and the Iron Rock Crusher. He had to cover his face from the blow-back of wind and debris, but in spite of that, he felt nothing from the attacks otherwise.

Apparently, he was alone in that, however – when the dust settled, the horde of Dynasty soldiers had been reduced to nothing and several surrounding buildings would need serious repairs as well.

"Meant to ask you guys about that," Max said into the sudden silence. "Why'd you shoot at me when you first saw me? And how come it didn't fry me?"

"We're not sure," Rowen told him. "That will be another question for Mia. Come on."

Max shrugged. He could wait. And if this Mia couldn't help them, Virgil would.

The five Ronins dismissed their main armors and started to run down the road in the same direction as before they'd been interrupted. Momentarily forgotten, Max turned to White Blaze.

"You sure you're okay, buddy? You took a couple bad hits there."

The tiger, looking a little ruffled but otherwise unharmed, leaned heavily into the Cap-Bearer's side and wuffled. Then he took a step, his weight pushing Max in the direction the Ronins had gone.

"You want me to get moving too, huh?" He looked up at the rapidly retreating figures of his allies, their sub-armor giving them superhuman speed. "You know I can't run like that, right?"

Max could have sworn the tiger rolled his eyes at him. He turned sideways and waited, tail flicking pointedly. Max grinned and climbed aboard.

As White Blaze set off at a sprint after the Ronins, Max held on tightly. _Three or four hours until I go get Virg and Normie. Gonna need the map for that, too. I just hope they get my message_.

-==OOO==-

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," came the voice over the cabin speakers.

Virgil perked up slightly, but Norman continued to sit perfectly still, his eyes closed and his face locked in an expression so cold and remote it could have been carved from ice.

"Due to unforeseen weather problems in Johannesburg, we will be forced to redirect to Cape Town to ensure the safest landing. We apologize for this inconvenience. You will be met at the gate with representatives from the airline to help you coordinate your changed plans. This will also increase our flying time by another hour."

At that, Virgil swallowed harshly. _It will also increase ours significantly. Cape Town is far south of where we need to go_. His mind worked before he could prevent it and he calculated an additional three hours would pass before they could reach the Namib.

"Norman," Virgil began softly.

"Don't tell me," the Viking replied shortly. "It'll only make us both more upset."

Heeding the Guardian's wisdom, Virgil let out a breath and fell silent. But that did not stop him from praying.

 _Please, Mighty Max. Please be waiting for us where we can get to you in time_.

-==OOO==-

Sage knew he wasn't the only one running along the familiar but deserted tree-lined lane with thick trepidation in his heart.

"We should have seen someone before now," he said in a low voice.

Beside him, Kento was scowling. "Yeah. This far out, we should be practically wading through people trying to get away from the city."

"Could they have already fled farther away?" Ryo asked.

"I don't think so," Rowen shook his head. "Toyama is just too big. There's too many people for evacuation to already be over."

"Talpa knew about this place," Sage remembered. "Maybe it's a trap."

"If it is," Ryo said, increasing his speed slightly, "we're still going to find Mia and Ully."

White Blaze was keeping up with Ronins' demanding pace admirably, and Max was grateful he wasn't the one trying to run alongside them. It also gave him the time to keep a lookout, watching the road and the surroundings for any sign of danger. Which meant he'd been even more acutely aware of the strange emptiness of the city's outskirts.

Max glanced upwards at the dark clouds looming overhead. It should have been morning, but no true sunlight could be seen – only a few feeble areas of less-dark above kept the land from being plunged into true everlasting night. Even here, miles from Toyama Castle, there was no sign of sky as far as he could see in any direction.

 _It's spreading so fast_ , he thought to himself. _If we don't get a handle on it, there's not going to be a lot of Japan left that isn't under the influence soon_.

Not long thereafter, the Ronins turned off the road to a darkened manor house near a lake. The front door stood open.

"Mia! Ully!" Ryo yelled.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Kento said under his breath as they entered.

They searched the house thoroughly, finding no one but themselves. The computer in the study was turned on, though, and there was an almost-full mug of cold tea sitting beside it. The TV in the lounge was also on, and a fat pillow sat on the ground before it still lumped as though Ully had just plopped it down in his favorite spot.

"Nothing's disturbed," Cye said. "If someone had come to take them, there'd be signs of it."

"It's more like they just got up and left," Sage said.

Rowen had returned to the study and sat himself before the computer. "I think they did."

At his words, everyone, including White Blaze and Max, crowded into the small space.

"Look," Rowen scrolled through a news site from Tokyo. "They're saying that for almost one hundred miles out of Toyama now, everyone seems to be caught up by some kind of mind control and they just abandon whatever they're doing to start walking towards the city. The report says that the influence isn't steady as it increases – it goes in jumps and spurts every couple of hours." Rowen looked up, pained. "According to this, Mia and Ully would have been overtaken sometime around dawn."

"That's why they're not here," Ryo felt his shoulders fall. "They're in the city already as part of that army."

"Then we better get busy so we can stop this thing before it gets any worse," Max said decisively. He squeezed through them to get to the computer. Rowen passed over the keyboard and mouse.

"Can you really get us into that castle?" Kento wanted to know.

"Yeah," Max nodded. "Just gotta find the right portals to do it."

While accessing his email, Max spotted a message from Bea confirming that she'd been called and told he was okay and that she had put in a call to the airport in Johannesburg herself to try to reach Virgil and Norman as well – along with a very, very brief "I'm glad to know that you're all right and Felix says hi" line that made Max smile; he could almost hear Bea trying to compose the message with Felix looking over her shoulder and making commentary. There was also an email from his mom, but given that the subject line was " _DON'T YOU DARE GO TO JAPAN MAX I AM WARNING YOU_ ," he opted not to open it. As he'd done just a few hours prior, he pulled up the portal map.

"Okay," he said. "There's definitely an entrance and an exit portal on the grounds of that castle," he zoomed in on the image and pointed. "We just need to get there."

White Blaze huffed and leaned his head against Max's thigh, his clear eyes focused on the screen.

"You gonna figure out the route for us, buddy?" Kento asked the tiger with a smile.

"Hey, he can't be any worse at navigating that Ryo!" Rowen said with a laugh.

"Get lost one time in the mall…" Ryo grumbled.

"Ryo, you ended up in a _different_ _mall_ from where you started." Sage's face was only barely concealing a smile. "You didn't even notice that you'd boarded and ridden the tram!"

White Blaze blew air out noisily through his nose, whacking Ryo with his tail.

"I think that's his way of telling you to trust his judgment next time," Cye said.

Ryo just rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Max had noted the nearest portal to their current position and was backtracking to match them up. But his heart was sinking a little. It must have shown on his face because Sage leaned close to him. "What is it?"

"Just…a weird coincidence. And that means it probably isn't one," Max said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Rowen asked.

"Well, getting there will be easy. There's a portal another mile down the road from here that'll take us to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Then, as long as we can duck the guards at El Morro, we can hop another one to some side-street in Moscow. And not far from there is the one that will take us to Baltimore and from there we can get back to the castle. No sweat."

"Easy for you to say," Kento shook his head.

"So what's the problem?" Ryo wanted to know.

"Well, the exit portal at the castle leads to Cape Town, South Africa."

"And why does that worry you?" Cye asked gently.

Max sighed. "That's really close to where Norman and Virgil are going to be when they land at Johannesburg in a few hours. And we haven't ever yet had a convenient exit that we didn't really, really need." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have a bad feeling this means things won't go so well for us at the castle."

"Do we have any other options?" Sage asked.

Rowen shrugged. "Not really. That's where Talpa is, so that's where we need to be. And the longer we wait, the stronger his influence gets."

Unconsciously, the remaining Ronins turned to Ryo, his face creased in thought.

"Max," Ryo began, "you don't have to come into battle with us. Once we get to the castle, you could just head out through the exit portal to meet up with your friends again and leave Talpa to us. If you're worried, I mean." He smiled. "Talpa really is our fight."

But Max pushed to his feet and shook his head. "No way. I'm supposed to be here and I'm not going to back down. I'm just saying we might not get much farther than running for our lives on this round." He managed a snarky smile. "Wouldn't be the first time I've had to hit and run away to fight again another day."

"Us either," Cye told him.

"Okay," Ryo decided. "Let's go. Before Talpa gets his evil all the way to Tokyo. And if we need to retreat, we know how to do that. And then…what?" He turned back to Max with the question.

"Find Virgil and Norman and come up with a new plan," Max said with more confidence. "Between all of us, your moldy buddy doesn't stand a chance!"

-==OOO==-

Passing through the portals wasn't nearly as disconcerting to the bearers of the Ronin armors as the journey to the Netherworld had been the last time around, at least initially. However, Max was adamant that not all five of the Ronins could enter the portal at the same time – and the fervor of his certainty told them he had learned this lesson the hard way once before, though he didn't choose to explain how or when.

So it was Ryo, Kento, and Cye who went first, popping out on a beach in the warm, late-afternoon sunlight. They weren't wearing their armor, or even their sub-armor, also at Max's direction. Still, the heat immediately struck them compared to the chill of spring in Japan, making Ryo grin broadly as he soaked up the energy that fed Wildfire even now. The Ronins had become so closely tied to their armor after two wars that they only needed to have the talismans within reach to feel the impact of their elements and virtues.

"Not a bad way to get around," Kento commented lightly.

"Certainly saves on the airfare," Cye agreed with a wry smile.

A few moments later, Rowen and Sage popped from the portal. Sage latched onto Rowen's elbow and tugged him to one side.

"Is he okay?" Cye asked with sudden concern.

"Yeah," Sage nodded, obviously hiding a smile. "But apparently these portals do something funny to Strata."

Ryo looked at Rowen who smiled the biggest, dopiest, wide-eyed smile he'd ever seen. "That's soooo fun!" Rowen declared.

"Man, you are so high or something," Kento said, noting the strange dilation of Rowen's eyes.

"Not meeeee," Rowen told him as he waved his hands sort of vaguely like butterflies in front of him. "Strata."

"Then we are definitely not going through them in full armor," Ryo said, feeling somewhere between amused and embarrassed as Rowen's eyes wandered vaguely and his gestures got bigger. "You gonna make it all the way through the next ones?"

"Yeahhhhh…" Rowen sighed blissfully.

"Come here, tough guy," Cye shook his head fondly. He moved to Rowen's other side and got the arm Sage wasn't trying to hold still up around his shoulders. "Let's just keep an eye on you, huh?"

Max and White Blaze exited the portal last, the tiger close to Max's side. "Everybody make it okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay," Sage told him.

"Means everything is shiny and goooood and like this beach but in my head," Rowen said with a happy sigh.

Max froze and looked sharply at him. "Did the portal warp his brain or something?"

"He'll be fine," Sage said. But he didn't miss that Max immediately assumed the portals could do harm. _I wonder what sort of experience he has had with them where something went wrong_. "We're all pretty closely tied to our elements even if we're not actually wearing the armors. There must be some sort of intersection between Strata and the portals you use."

Rowen had started singing some kind of jingle for a brand of electronics, but he was substituting words with what he saw around him, resulting in one line that went, "Seashells are the best appliances around! Look for the logo so you know when crabs are coming to your town!"

Max snorted. "Well, is he going to make it through a few more?"

At that, Sage nodded. "I can probably heal him with Halo, but it's a waste of energy to do it more than once if this will happen every time. We'll get him all the way to the castle and then I'll fix it."

Ryo looked to the other two Ronins and shrugged. It wasn't as if he had any better ideas.

"If you say so," Max shrugged too. "Just don't let us get arrested sneaking into the fort up there."

Thirty minutes, one police chase, and at least eleven more nonsensical songs from Rowen later, the group managed to get into one of the off-limits turrets of the El Morro citadel. Max activated the portal as quickly as possible – partly because there was still a squad of angry guards and police officers pursuing them for trespassing on the historic site, and partly because this particular turret smelled strongly of substances better left unidentified – and practically shoved Sage, Rowen, and Cye through.

"Is this a typical day for you?" Kento asked with an arched eyebrow as the shouting officials drew closer.

Max laughed in spite of himself. "Kind of, yeah. Why? Isn't this a typical day for you?"

"Not even close," Kento told him. "Usually there's less…uh…international law-breaking."

"You'll get used to it. Besides, it doesn't count if we don't get caught," Max assured him. Then he nudged Kento and Ryo to take their turn in the portal, his practiced instinct telling him the others should have arrived and the passage would be clear.

With a few moments alone behind the door through which the police outside were yelling in very rapid Spanish, Max dropped to one knee beside White Blaze.

"I need you to make me a promise. Okay?"

The tiger huffed and butted his head against Max's shoulder.

"If everything goes wrong, you need to take the Cap and get it to Norman and Virgil."

White Blaze tipped his head sideways with an eloquent questioning look.

"I've got a bad feeling about all this. And if Virg were here, he'd probably know why. But I'm going in kind of blind on this one. It's not that I don't trust those guys, but something isn't right. And they've fought Talpa before, but everything's different this time." Max sighed. "Talpa's a major bad. I get that. And if we're in over our heads, giving him the Cap will only make everything a million times worse. You remember where the exit portal is, right?"

White Blaze nodded solemnly.

"Okay. If it happens, if it all goes wrong, take the Ronins if you can but get out with the Cap. That's the most important thing."

White Blaze growled and bared his teeth.

"There will always be another Cap-Bearer," Max said softly. "I'm sure Virgil could find another Chosen One. But the Cap is too important to give up. And I know you understand that." He looked into the tiger's eyes with a heart that felt far too old and far too weary. "Promise me. Please?"

White Blaze snorted but licked his cheek with a slow swipe.

Max smiled and ruffled the fur on his head. "Thanks, buddy. Without Norman and Virgil here, it's good to have someone I can count on. And no offense to your friends, but we don't exactly march to the same beat yet."

Then he rose and led the way into the portal to join the others.

The side-street in Moscow turned out to be in a fairly scuzzy neighborhood, the sort of place Norman wouldn't have let Max walk in broad daylight let alone the dark hours just before dawn – and even then he'd have marched with his sword out and ready. Kento took over steering Rowen along and trying to keep him quiet while the rest formed up around them and Max and hurried as quickly as they could to their next portal. However, when one shadow detached from the wall and made for the group, it took only a very, very vicious roar from White Blaze to send the would-be attacker fleeing for cover. The rest of the street seemed to miraculously clear after that.

The portal to Baltimore let out on the waterfront where long afternoon shadows were starting to slide across the water. Max scanned the waves long enough to figure out that, yes, as he'd feared, the portal they needed was some distance from shore out in the middle of the harbor.

"I hope somebody's got some cash," he grumbled. Kento handed him several bills – all Japanese, unfortunately, but better than nothing.

It took only a few minutes for Max to flag down a vacant water taxi and convince the driver to let White Blaze aboard – though how exactly he did it, no one really knew. Max just opened his mouth and started to spout something about a circus and some acrobats and a mixed-up delivery and the boatman seemed to accept his explanation even though it was utter nonsense. Sage would have loved to have discussed it with Rowen, or at least traded interesting looks, but Rowen was busy trying to kick the water. As they started out into the bay, Cye helped Rowen sit on the edge of the flat-boat, pulling off his shoes and socks and they both soaked their feet in the chilly water while Max blithely directed the water taxi out to where he knew the final portal waited.

"Are we really ready for this, Ryo?" Kento whispered as they picked up speed.

"Are we ever?" Ryo replied.

Sage closed his eyes. "There's no telling what we'll find when we arrive. We need to be prepared for anything."

"You just take care of Rowen," Ryo said with fire building in his heart as he focused on preparing to protect the vulnerable members of his team. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."

"Who's going to look out for Max, though?" Kento asked.

White Blaze, from where he had been lying not far away, yawned loudly.

"Guess that answers that," Ryo smiled at his old friend.

"Ryo," Cye said from where he sat, hands and feet trailing in the water.

Ryo shifted to lean on the railing nearby. "What is it?"

"If it's Talpa again…" Cye broke off, swallowing harshly. "If we have to fight him like we did before…"

Ryo leaned down and rested a hand on Cye's shoulder. "We'll all do what we have to," he said softly. "It's the best we can do."

"Yes, I know that, but…" Cye trailed off. For all the months since Talpa's last defeat, he had never spoken of the final blow he had struck – the blow that not only brought Talpa down, but should have killed Ryo as well. The blow that haunted his thoughts and woke him up nights in treacherous memory.

"Youuuu…" Rowen said beside him, causing Cye to turn. "…You think too much." And he poked the tip of Cye's nose with a dripping finger.

"He's right," Ryo said with a faint smile. "Look, whatever's going to happen, I trust you. I trust all of you. I know you'll back me up and you'll do what needs doing. And…if it comes to it…I know you won't let me down. However it ends, as long as we beat Talpa, that's all that matters."

Cye squeezed his hands into tense fists and even the water surrounding him couldn't drain away his agitation. "Yes, I know that. But…"

"Boop." Rowen grinned as he poked Cye's nose again. "Water is feelings. You have lots of it. You need more of it, but not more of it. More of different it. We'll find you some later. I promise."

Cye chuckled. "I sure hope you remember this when we get you sorted out again," he said. "I'd love to know what exactly that is supposed to mean."

"Me too!" Rowen beamed. "Squishy truth is the best kind."

The water taxi drew to a halt and Max's Cap began to glow. "I hope you guys are ready," he said, his voice steady.

Cye pulled Rowen out of the water, the bearer of Strata unresisting and seemingly enamored with hugging Cye while Kento tried to get his shoes back on him. Ryo and Sage stepped up close to Max.

"Just keep your head down until we get Rowen back to normal," Ryo said. "Don't go charging in without us."

Max shrugged noncommittally. But White Blaze got lazily to his feet and knocked into Max firmly with clear admonition.

"Okay, fine! Geez, you're a bossy cat," he swiped at the tiger's back. White Blaze rumbled low in his chest.

"Is this really where you're trying to go?" the taxi driver asked, eyeing the portal with more than a little trepidation.

"Actually, yes," Sage told him with a polite nod. "Thank you for the ride."

"No problem. It's your dime."

"We pay in blood and sweat," came Rowen's voice, still lilting oddly but with no more of the overly-bright smile. "We pay in fear and fight and virtue. And the shadows go away, but never go away. Big shadows, bigger than ever. Two wrongs make the wrong right."

Ryo couldn't help but shiver at his words. "Time to go," was all he said. "Armor up as soon as you get through."

Ryo and Cye and Kento stepped up to jump into the portal. And Ryo nudged Cye, the only comfort he could give before they headed into another war all over again.

"See you in the flowers field!" Rowen waved.

They jumped.


	6. Anguish Pierces

Well, here we go...

Enjoy!

* * *

The world goes whispering to its own,  
This anguish pierces to the bone;  
And tender friends go sighing round,  
What love can ever cure this wound?  
My days go on, my days go on.  
–Elizabeth Barrett Browning

-==OOO==-

By the time Max emerged from the portal into what looked like a dim, grassy courtyard with White Blaze already bristling at his side, four of the Ronins were in their full armor. Ryo, Kento, and Cye were spread defensively around the open portal in a triangle with Sage and Rowen in the center of their formation. Sage was already summoning some of the energy he had absorbed from the sun in both Puerto Rico and Baltimore, his green armor resonating with the power of Halo.

There was a flash of light and Rowen stumbled into Sage, groaning. "My head…What…?"

"You back now, dude?" Kento asked, sparing only an instant to glance back at them before refocusing on watchfulness.

"Yeah," Rowen nodded, pushing himself upright. "Wow. That was…different. But…there was something I knew that I can't seem to remember now…something important…"

"Figure it out later," Ryo said. "Get your armor on. We need to move."

"There's no welcoming committee," Max observed. "Maybe they don't know we're here yet?" He was more hopeful than realistic.

"Talpa can always sense the armors," Sage reminded him. Beside him, Rowen had summoned Strata and was shifting around inside the armor as though it fit strangely before he settled again.

"So let's go find him before he finds us," Ryo decided. "I bet he'll be there," he pointed a katana towards the center part of the castle.

"Everyone just be careful," Cye warned. "Something's not right."

Max's skin was prickling with the same ominous feeling. When White Blaze shoved into his side and turned impatiently, Max didn't hesitate to climb aboard. Whatever else awaited him, he would take the tiger's protectiveness gladly.

The small group moved quietly through the grass angling away from the paved thoroughfare that led to the castle's main doors. Instead, they stuck to the trees in the part of the gardens that provided some cover. The white castle was a dingy grey color in the cloudy light, its central tower rising up like a tombstone. Though dwarfed by the modern buildings just outside the castle grounds, the silent dignity of the ancient palace reminded Max of a sleeping monster: serene, still, and only the slightest disturbance keeping it from becoming a force that would turn on them with the speed of a viper.

"Up there," Rowen said softly as they reached the edge of the tree-line.

Everyone peered upward. The very top of the castle's central tower was a single broad room with windows open to all four sides. A dark red light glowed from the room, and a shadow moved.

"Let's go," Ryo said, dipping his head as he sank into a crouch. The other Ronins copied him. As one, the five burst upwards in a magnificent leap, flying over the paved expanse between the grass and the outermost portion of the castle and bounding to the rooftop. Another leap carried them most of the way up the tower.

"Well, we can't just sit here," Max said to White Blaze.

But White Blaze hesitated.

"You know something, don't you, buddy?" Max asked.

The tiger huffed.

"I'd ask you what it is if I could, but I don't think it really matters." Max rubbed his hand over the tiger's head. "Doesn't matter who's up there or what happens next. I've still gotta go. I'm the Mighty One."

Max closed his eyes and let out his breath. A year before, he might have been reluctant or downright unwilling to charge into something like this. He'd have looked for an out, or at least he'd have joked about it. But so much had happened. Skullmaster had won. The world as he knew it – and Norman and Virgil – had been destroyed. He'd come through in the end, turning back time and repairing what he had let happen, but still. Skullmaster had, for a few horrible moments, _won_.

Max's whole perspective had changed then. Of course he was more dedicated than ever to kicking Skullmaster's butt – he had a lot of anger to take out on that particular demon. But a few other adventures since then had also changed him, made him view himself and his destiny differently. He'd accepted the mantle of the Mighty One completely, its grim reality supplanting the more casual understanding he'd held before. He'd been forced to see himself and face his own shortcomings honestly – and had vowed to change them. He had battled ancient evils of incalculable power and had put his life and his soul on the line to defeat them. And he had learned.

Max knew that his life belonged not to himself, not anymore, but rather to the world he had been chosen to protect. He knew that even stripped of the Cap and his inborn powers, he still had to stand up and fight even if he had nothing but his bare hands and maybe a good pun. He knew that he had entered into a battle that would never really end, never really let up, because even when the time came for him to defeat Skullmaster, there would always be another evil waiting for a turn to ruin the world. And Max also knew that he would have help, that Virgil and Norman and others all over the world would be there to help him as the Ronins were helping him now.

But in his heart, Max knew without a doubt that he was the fulcrum around which the world would turn. That his gift, his destiny, gave only him the power to make the important, _right_ things happen.

And that, in the end, he would have to stand alone in the storm to turn back the hurricane or die trying.

Max's heart was heavy with fear and responsibility – not for himself, but for the world depending upon his fragile strength to save it once again. He knew better than anyone how little he could do against an armored demonic warlord. He didn't even have a sword. He didn't even have a _stick_. But that had never stopped him from stepping up to the plate before.

"I am the Mighty One," he said again, opening his eyes. "Now let's go save the world."

White Blaze roared and leaped for the castle. Max clung to the fur with both hands, crouching low over the tiger's back. He had wrapped his legs around the thick, powerful body as best he could, and when White Blaze went almost vertical as he began to ascend the castle, it was all Max could do not to dangle off him like a cape flapping in the breeze.

The Ronins had reached the top of the tower and were inside by the time Max and White Blaze landed on the little balcony outside the nearest window. Max shook his head to clear the vertigo of the climb and took in a sharp gasp.

"It's not possible!"

The five Ronins stood before a suit of armor that was a dark, cold grey – all but the mask concealing the face, which was a deep blood-red color. Strangely dead, white hair billowed from under the helmet, and six blades stood out like dire wings framing the whole suit. Like the Dynasty soldiers below, the suit appeared empty, shadows where flesh should have been. But the eyes within the mask were pools of eerie pale light that swirled against the darkness.

Sage turned his head slightly to where Max sat astride White Blaze, his knuckles white with the force of his grip on the tiger's fur. "It's Talpa, like we told you."

"No," Max shook his head. "You're wrong. That's _Skullmaster_."

Because what Max had seen was the emblem on the center of the armor's breastplate. There was a face leering from the center of the armor that Max had not forgotten from the first day he'd borne the Cap.

To his astonishment, the face which looked as though it had been carved into the metal bent in a laugh. The sound echoed strangely from the suit of armor, but it was familiar nonetheless. The voice of Max's nightmares spoke.

"How well you know me, _Cap-Bearer_!"

"Then it's true?" Ryo gestured with a katana. "You're not Talpa at all! Then how –?"

"Oh, _puny_ Ronin. I am far more than Talpa ever could have _imagined_ ," Skullmaster's voice dripped with malice. "You may have destroyed his essence, but enough of his evil remained within his armor. And that evil combined with my own powers has given me the one thing I have sought for millennia – _freedom_!"

"You're not really here!" Max declared, moving from White Blaze to stand amidst the Ronins. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the face in the middle of the breastplate that moved instead of the creepy mask above that didn't. "If you were, you wouldn't be caught dead in that recycling center reject!"

"Astute as usual, Mighty One," Skullmaster's voice rumbled over the title he used with such mockery. "Thanks to you, I remain trapped in the earth. But you have _gravely_ miscalculated. For you have not returned to my realm since our last… _encounter_ at Stonehenge. And you of all people know what that means."

Max felt his stomach drop in horror. "The Crystal of Souls," he whispered.

"Yes! You restored time, and with it, my _unbroken_ Crystal," Skullmaster's voice boomed with triumph. "And as I did not send my Atlantean minions after you, you had no cause to destroy it once more. You _should_ have returned to face me again. You would have died, but you might have broken it once more. With the source of my power unshattered, it was mere _child's play_ to seize the power inherent in what remained of the demon warlord's armor and link it to my own!"

"Max, what's he talking about?" Rowen asked.

"Skully has a really powerful Crystal," Max said, proud his voice didn't shake as he realized the monumental error he and Virgil and Norman had made in assuming the Crystal wasn't in play. "He uses it to do all kinds of stuff. It's fueled by the trapped souls of the people of Atlantis."

"And somehow he used it to take over Talpa's leftovers?" Kento asked.

"But what about the Dynasty soldiers?" Cye wanted to know. "How could he summon them?"

"You Ronins are pitiful," Skullmaster said. "How little you understand. The armor provides the link that draws spirits from its original realm into this world, spirits who are bound to obedience and servitude."

"So he's got all of Talpa's power," Ryo scowled darkly. "But he's your demon."

"I could live without you ever calling him 'mine' again, okay?" Max shot back with a scowl of his own.

"Ah, Mighty One, you _wound_ me," Skullmaster taunted.

"Wish I did," Max muttered.

"We are bound by fate, you and I. Enemies to the bitter, bloody end. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

Max's eyes went wide. "It was you! You're the one who attacked me in Hong Kong!"

Skullmaster laughed. "Of course! I knew you would survive. You have an annoying habit of that. But I also anticipated that it would draw you to me, a moth to the flame." The voice deepened. "Come, little moth. I _long_ to _burn_ you."

"Not a chance!" Ryo declared. "You're not even Talpa. You're just a squatter. We're gonna take you apart!"

"By all means, _little_ Ronin. I invite you to try."

"Stay back, Max," Rowen said, shifting in front of the Cap-Bearer. "We'll handle this."

"Wait!" Max cried even as the other Ronins raised their weapons.

"Thunderbolt Strike!"

"Wave Smasher!"

"Heaven's Shockwave!"

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

Ryo was only a second or two behind the others as he lifted his katana and burned with fury. "Flare—!"

He only barely managed to stop before releasing the flames. "Look out!" he yelled.

Max was already moving. He could tell that the Ronin's powers weren't going to work against Skullmaster, even if he didn't know _how_ he could be sure of that. The four blasts of raw power had leaped forward in the space between the Ronins and where the armor of Talpa waited. But none of it touched him. In fact, it never even got close.

Instead, the tsunami of power reversed itself and was bearing down on the Ronins.

 _I hope I know what I'm doing_ , Max had a split-second to pray. Then he flung himself in front of the Ronins with his arms outstretched.

"Max!" shouted several voices.

The roar in his ears left him deafened and unsteady, but Max was still standing when the power of the four attacks vanished before him.

"Very _good_ , Cap-Bearer," Skullmaster drawled. "The Ronin armors are forged of a mix of the most ancient powers of good and evil – as are we. Their powers cannot harm either one of us for as long as I possess this armor."

"Then we're gonna have to get you out of it!" Kento yelled. Without another word, he charged forward, his tetsubo raised to strike.

"Kento!" Cye called after him. "Don't!"

The armor of Talpa caught the tetsubo in midair, freezing Kento in place.

"Did you think you could defeat me so easily?" Skullmaster was practically purring. "Your pain has only begun, _Ronin_."

And he swiped at Kento with enough force to punch the bearer of Hardrock through the wall and out into the open air. But when Kento's back hit the seemingly normal wall, he jolted in place as the dark tendrils of another barrier emerged.

"Kento!" Rowen called. Sage was closer, and he dashed to Kento's side, ripping him from the wall before the barrier could destroy him.

"We're trapped," Cye glanced back at Max.

"Then we take him down here and now!" Ryo declared.

"Do you wish to fight me so much, Wildfire?" Skullmaster taunted. "Do you feel your blood _sing_ to rip me apart?"

Ryo's face twisted into a feral smirk. "Something like that."

"Ryo, don't!" Cye put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't lose track of your guiding virtue."

"Believe me," Ryo's expression darkened, "Righteousness will be fulfilled by taking this guy down. It's time for the Armor of Inferno!"

The five Ronin armors began to glow.

And Max had a _horrible_ feeling. White Blaze roared a warning, but Max was faster. He bolted to Ryo and latched onto his hand. "Whatever you're doing, _stop_!" he cried.

Ryo jolted as if struck. "We need to combine our armors. We'll be strong enough to beat him if we unite our powers. It's how we took Talpa down before. We'll be fine!"

"No, you won't," Max shook his head. "I don't know why, but that's exactly what he wants. And, trust me, what Bonehead over there wants, you do _not_ want to give him."

"Oh, Cap-Bearer," Skullmaster's voice rose up. "I believe you will regret this more than anything else. Had they combined their powers to defeat me, their end would have been painless. Now you will all _suffer_!"

The armor Skullmaster was inhabiting spread its arms. A cold light began to glow around it, a dark aura that seemed to suck light in and hold it captive.

The five Ronins shouted in sudden pain.

"What's happening?" Ryo felt as if Wildfire was burning him – Wildfire who was safer and stronger nowhere than in the depths of flame.

Max yelped as Ryo's armor went searing hot and he pulled his hands back and took a step away, dread in his heart.

It was Cye, eyes wide and afraid, who answered. "It's the evil in our armors! He's strengthening it!"

"Focus on your virtues!" Sage ordered. "Focus! Or we'll be corrupted!"

"It is already too late for that," Skullmaster laughed. "Already you are _mine_!"

Max could see darkness creeping up the five Ronin armors, their colors shifting to blackened hues and their proud symbols twisting.

 _I've got to do something_ , he thought fiercely. _I've got to help them_.

Max turned and made a running leap towards Talpa's armor. He didn't know what he'd do when he got there, but he sure hoped it would make some kind of difference.

Skullmaster caught him just as he had once before in a previous timeline in an ancient Lemurian city, holding the dangling boy by his shirt.

"You have delivered unto me the finest weapon on earth," Skullmaster said, his voice still heavy with laughter. "I owe you my thanks, Mighty Max."

Max was about to shout back when he was interrupted by a horrible keening. He turned as much as he could in the grip.

The five Ronins were convulsing. Max could see their faces, pale as the moon, drawn in pain. The armors were twisting and jerking as if out of control and it seemed as though they were causing agony to those wearing them. Then, suddenly, a mask slid down over Ryo's face and his eyes vanished into pools of dark shadow. The armor of Wildfire stopped shuddering and stood at silent attention.

"Wildfire is mine," Skullmaster taunted. "The others will soon fall. The paltry human virtues in their armors cannot defeat the evil of their forging, or the power of my Crystal of Souls."

Max called out. "Listen to me! You have to be strong! Hang onto those virtues, guys!"

Kento's mask fell and Hardrock drew still.

"Don't give up! You're way stronger than anything Skullmaster can do!"

Max saw one last, anguished expression on Sage's face before Halo was overcome.

"You cannot help them. You cannot stop me." Skullmaster's dark joy seemed to echo inside Max's head.

Rowen vanished and Strata fell under the thrall.

"Cye!" Max shouted. " _Please_!"

"And when they are mine, I will have all the power I need to rule this world and every other!" Skullmaster cried.

Max could barely watch as Torrent sank into evil. He swallowed against a harsh lump in his throat.

"You may have them, but you're not getting away with it," he swore, his heart filling with rage.

"I also have you, _Cap-Bearer_ ," Skullmaster made his title sound like an insult.

"Sure," Max replied. "But you're not getting this. White Blaze – now!"

And Max swept the Cap from his head and tossed it into the air.

White Blaze, who had been motionless behind the Ronins, leaped into action. He snatched the Cosmic Cap from the air above Skullmaster's head in his teeth and sprinted for the window on the opposite side of the tower.

"No! Get back here, you worthless feline!" Skullmaster yelled.

White Blaze hesitated for just an instant at the edge of the window.

"Go!" Max begged. "You promised!"

White Blaze threw his body against the window, rumbling low in his chest as he hit the barrier.

"He'll never get out. He'll die trying," Skullmaster told Max.

"No," Max shook his head. "No, he won't."

And whether it was White Blaze's own power or the faith of the Mighty One or the presence of the Cap, Max was proven correct; the barrier flickered for just an instant, and White Blaze broke through the window.

"No!" Skullmaster raced to the window, still carrying Max.

All they could see was the tiger's tail vanishing into the exit portal below.

Skullmaster growled inarticulately. With a wave of his hand, strange dark energy flowed over the broken window to restore the barrier. Then he threw Max down to the floor and loomed over him.

"Even without the Cosmic Cap, you have lost."

Max glanced back at the Ronins. "Can't you guys hear me? Come on! Fight it!"

"They cannot," Skullmaster was smiling again. "They _willingly_ accepted the seed of evil that is in their armors, and one who willingly takes evil into himself becomes my _slave_." He chuckled. "Had you remembered the Crystal and come to destroy it again, they would still be free. But you _failed_ , Mighty One. And their lives are only the _first_ whose blood and souls are on your hands."

A dark haze began to leak from the walls and floor, creeping into the air like fog.

"You have lost, Cap-Bearer," Skullmaster's voice was low and menacing. "Your failure means this world is _mine_."

"No…" Max moaned, trying crawl backwards along the floor away from the vile armor. The strange haze began to curl around him. The fog felt cold, and where it touched him, Max couldn't help but flinch.

" _Yes_. Feel the fear and pain seep into you." Skullmaster took another step so he was almost on top of Max. "You have _failed_ , Mighty One. _Spectacularly_."

Max felt nothing for a moment; he just stared at the armored face that concealed the spirit of Skullmaster. And then reality hit him with all the force of a lightning strike.

Max fought not to throw up, but his stomach was roiling and he felt cold and sick and shaky. This wasn't like Stonehenge at all. At Stonehenge he'd been horrified and frightened, and so very sad because he was alone and it was _his_ _fault_ , but he hadn't been _helpless_. He'd remembered Virgil's words and he'd fought back.

But this time there was nothing to fight. There was no trick to it this time. The only thing he'd done right was to send the Cap off with White Blaze, but it was only a matter of time before Skullmaster tracked it down, and in the meantime, Max was left with nothing. His mystical cosmic powers were not going to save the world this time. There wasn't a clever plan or a way out or a sudden rescue in sight. It was _over_. It was over and it was _his fault_ again.

On some level, Max had a vague suspicion that his feelings might be influenced by the strange haze that had congealed around him. But that idea slid from him as despair sliced through his heart.

Max curled down over his knees, his hands curling into fists and he covered his head with his arms as if he could block out the failure as he pressed his face to the floor. He'd never been more heartsick in his life.

And the Mighty One began to cry.

-==OOO==-

Ryo was alone in the dark.

"What happened?" he wondered.

The very darkness around him shuddered and he shook with it.

"Where am I?"

Images slowly came to him. Talpa. Not Talpa – Skullmaster using Talpa's remains. Max. The armors darkening.

"Am I…trapped inside Wildfire?"

It was the only thing that made any sort of sense. Ryo's heart sank.

"That means I've been corrupted. That I lost my Righteousness to evil."

He tried to summon it, that fierce certainty and dedication that had saved him and served him well so many times. But he felt only emptiness.

"This can't be happening. It _can't_ be."

The dark shuddered around him again.

"The guys…they'll fix this. They'll use their own virtues to fortify Wildfire. I _know_ they will."

But he'd been here so long. He'd felt nothing at all from outside, no sense of awareness of the others, even. When the five Ronins had been drawn into Talpa before, even asleep, Ryo had known he was with the others. Had known Sage, Rowen, Cye, and Kento were with him, beside him, sharing the dark defeat. Because that defeat had been of the battle, but never of the spirit. Even forced into Talpa's power, the five Ronins had not then let their souls or their guiding virtues falter.

This time there was nothing.

"Did Skullmaster get all of us?"

He didn't want to believe it. But he was still here…alone.

"What have we done?"

-==OOO==-

"There is much I could do to you," came the disembodied voice of Skullmaster. Even through the empty armor of Talpa, the tone was clearly smug.

Max flinched, swallowing thickly. _Now it's going to be real_ , he thought with a hysterical little flutter. _Now it's going to hurt_.

"Oh, don't worry, Mighty One. You will die in time, when I am satisfied. But, first, I believe I shall have at least some of my vengeance."

 _Stop talking about it, Bonehead. Just get it over with. Please. I can't keep this up_. Max's terror was so great, it took almost all his courage not to bellow the words aloud.

"There will be _pain_. And _blood_. And by the time we are finished, you will be _broken_ at my feet, mewling and _begging_ me to end your _miserable_ life!"

 _I know that. I always knew that. What chance did I ever have against him?_

"But first." The words lilted with what Max knew to be a sinister smile. "I believe I wish you to suffer before your mind is unraveled to my delight. Seize him!"

The five Ronin armors which had been motionless snapped to obey. Max rolled and dodged while Skullmaster's chuckle sounded in the air, but there were too many of them. Before he'd even gotten to his feet, Strata had latched onto one of his arms. Max tried to yank the dark blue armor off-balance, only to find his other arm caught in the cold metal hands of Halo.

"Don't do this!" he begged.

Wildfire came up behind him and wrapped metal arms around his throat in a clear warning. The armor was so hot Max cried out when it touched his skin. Torrent and Hardrock appeared before him and each took an ankle in their unforgiving hands.

Max was hoisted from the ground, and though he kicked out feebly, he didn't have the strength to fight against the metallic arms that held him.

"Bring him to me!"

And Talpa's armor began to open, revealing a gaping maw of darkness inside.

Max writhed with sudden, frantic fear. "No! _No_! _Don't_!"

Skullmaster's laughter sounded in his ears as Max flailed in the grip that did not bend. Talpa's armor was sized to fit someone just a bit taller than Norman, so it was cavernous and huge compared to Max's size.

He couldn't keep himself from the screech of terror that escaped him when the Ronins threw his body into the waiting darkness.

"Yes, Mighty One! Fear me!" Skullmaster's glee was _everywhere_ and the armor snapped closed, trapping Max inside.

Max felt himself pulled as if by chains until his legs stretched down into the metal legs and his hands were held fast suspended near the armor's elbows. Max kicked and twisted, but the grip that held him was immovable.

He started to hyperventilate.

"Your fear is _delicious_ ," Skullmaster's voice purred around him.

Max closed his eyes tightly. Better that than to see out the chest-plate through the strange haze that he knew was Skullmaster's spirit inhabiting the armor. Inhabiting _him_.

"Yes, Cap-Bearer. I am in your thoughts, your heart. Your _soul_. And I will keep you here, bound inside me as you have kept me bound under the earth, until you go mad. Locked in this shell, where I may torment you however I wish."

Max could feel the swell of evil pleasure before Skullmaster said, "Let me show you."

Max couldn't keep his eyes closed, try as he might. He couldn't help but see through the armor, stretched so tight he wasn't sure his arms and legs wouldn't be torn off, as Talpa's armor began to walk to the window.

When Talpa's legs bent, the knee joint pressing sharply against his shin, Max cried out in pain.

"That is nothing," Skullmaster taunted. "For how easy you are to break."

The armor suddenly flexed one arm sharply. Max could feel his own arm _snap_ as the armor bent where he had bone suspended. He howled and Skullmaster laughed.

"Your body will know such pain that this becomes a pleasant memory," the demon promised. "But first, I wish your heart to know far worse."

At the window, Skullmaster paused. Max, gasping, feeling tears on his face from the burning in his arm, couldn't help but be forced to watch as the armor lifted the other arm. And then Max felt a burn of power pass through him, pass _from_ him into the armor.

" _Yes_ , Mighty One. _You_ yourself fuel this. Watch and know that it is _your_ gift that brings such destruction and death!"

The power coalesced into a sphere of dark energy at the palm of the outstretched hand.

" _No_!" Max cried desperately.

Skullmaster fired the blast into the city. A building partly collapsed, black fire spreading everywhere the energy touched. And even at this distance, Max feared he could hear screaming.

He wasn't surprised to realize his own voice was upraised in horror.

Skullmaster laughed, Talpa's armor throwing its head back and bending Max painfully at the spine.

"I am almost grateful to you that I did not kill you," Skullmaster told him. "If I had, I never could have achieved this power, nor taken such _exquisite_ revenge."

Max's breath was coming as harsh sobs, but he managed, "Kill me, then." _Please. End this_.

"Oh, no, _Cap-Bearer_. We shall have _decades_ of this together. You will have a front-row seat to the destruction of your _precious_ world. And when you have forgotten how to feel pain and despair, when you have known every shade of suffering until all are comfortable, only _then_ will I release you from this prison to begin again in _every_ way I know. You will live to see old age, _Mighty Max_. I will keep you alive and _begging_ me for death until you no longer remember the difference!"

And Max knew, absolutely _knew_ , that he was right.


	7. Degrees of Wickedness

Okay, this is the worst chapter for the torturing. If you make it through here, I don't think there's much more to fear, at least in terms of blood and gore. The psychological stuff might be tougher later on, though.

This is the chapter that is titled in my head the "I AM SO EVIL AND SORRY NOT SORRY" chapter. That about sums it up.

Enjoy!

* * *

Melancholy and sadness are the start of doubt...doubt is the beginning of despair; despair is the cruel beginning of the differing degrees of wickedness. – Comte de Lautreamont

-==OOO==-

Alone in the darkness, Kento raged.

"I've gotta get out of here! The guys need me!"

Summoning up all his strength, he focused on his guiding virtue. _Justice_.

The darkness was unmoved.

-==OOO==-

Sage was struggling to keep his mind focused.

"If the armors have been corrupted, it will take all my power and the purest of Grace to even have a hope of breaking through. I cannot allow anything else to distract me."

But the oppressive darkness made it hard for the warrior to keep his thoughts from turning dark themselves.

"If Skullmaster has taken all of us, Max is alone against his greatest enemy. I trust that he will survive the encounter…but at what cost?"

-==OOO==-

Virgil wasn't sure who was the more relieved when the airplane door finally opened – himself, that they had at last arrived in Cape Town, Norman for the same reason, or the flight attendants who could clearly tell any delay at all in releasing the passengers might result in Norman forcibly removing the door himself. Virgil knew perfectly well that Norman was not only entirely physically capable of ripping the airplane door open, but at this point, the Viking was _more_ than willing to do it as well.

Norman didn't even wait for the all-clear signal or for the last poor cabin attendant to get out of his way before he was shouldering through the narrow aisle and bumping aside anyone between him and the exit. Virgil could only follow in his wake, murmuring apologies.

They'd just reached the door when the captain began to announce, "Representatives of the airline will be on-hand to help you reach your final destinations…"

"Virgil." Norman's voice was cold and sharp. "Now what." It was not even a question.

But the Guardian's tone grounded Virgil back in reality and his flustered relief at not having to deal with confused civilians melted away, leaving only the diamond-strong core that had kept him alive since eons before the fall of Lemuria.

"Now we must arrange for a private plane to take us to the nearest airstrip to the exit portal in the Namib," he said, striding forward as Norman fell in beside him. "It will be faster to hire someone from our current location than to contact the plane I'd already reserved out of Johannesburg and have them pick us up here."

Norman nodded his silent assent. His fingers itched with a need to do something, _anything_. His boy needed him.

They were most of the way through the concourse when they heard the commotion ahead.

"What is it?" Virgil asked, his diminutive stature preventing him from being able to see over the crowd.

Norman froze before he reached down and plucked Virgil from the ground. A few moments later, a stampede of panicked civilians were streaming their way. Norman could withstand the crowd between his size and sheer mass, but Virgil was just as grateful to settle on his shoulder and avoid being trampled – even if he could almost hear the Mighty One making a comment about him looking like a parrot or some such thing.

"We need to go that way?" Norman asked.

"Yes," Virgil said.

"All right then." And Norman began wading against the sea of fleeing humanity towards their destination. Because, as far as he was concerned, if there was even one pilot with a working plane in that direction – even if that plane was inches from a nuclear meltdown or a monster or a black hole – that was the only thing that mattered.

But the crashingly loud roar a few moments later was unexpected.

Norman actually paused for an instant. "I know that roar."

He picked up the pace, jogging now around the last of the mass of frightened people. Virgil, still perched on his shoulder, held onto the Guardian's broad arm, his beak clacking at the bumpy stride.

"Norman, what is it?"

They rounded a corner and Norman had a clear view down into the arrivals area where a squadron of security and police officers were trying to maintain a perimeter amidst the chaos.

Norman actually smirked. "An old friend."

Virgil frowned darkly at the Viking. But before he could ask, his eyes seized onto a familiar spot of red. "The Cap!"

Within the circle of the police officers who hung back hesitantly, an enormous white tiger was growling ferociously. Its tail whipped back and forth and its body was poised to spring. But it was the red Cosmic Cap held between the tiger's teeth that drew all of Virgil's attention.

Norman called out in a loud voice, "Bai Huo!"

The tiger turned to look at him, a few guards between them shying away from the creature's sudden attention. With an audible huff, the tiger bounded forward. It leaped over the assembled peacekeepers and raced to where Norman stood at the top of an escalator.

"What is going on here?" Virgil demanded as the tiger drew up near. "Why do you have the Cosmic Cap? Who are you? How does Norman know you?"

Norman ran one hand fondly over the cat's great head before turning his attention to the squad of armed forces now heading their way. "Maybe we should get out of here first," he suggested.

Virgil made an ugly squawking noise but he acquiesced quickly and slid to the ground. Drawing forth the scroll he always kept within his robes, he searched for the nearest portal. "There. In that gift shop. Quickly now." But before he moved a step forward, he peered at the tiger.

"It's okay, Virgil," Norman said.

"The Cap," Virgil commanded, his voice remote and cool.

The tiger made a low almost humming noise and gently dropped the Cosmic Cap into Virgil's outstretched hands.

"Good. Now let's go," Norman said. He scooped up Virgil once more and set out at a brisk sprint for the portal, the tiger keeping up at his side and leaving the rightly-alarmed guards behind.

But as the Cap glowed in Virgil's grip and the portal burst to life, the Lemurian felt his own heart sinking. _What can have happened to the Mighty One_?

Virgil almost hoped the tiger would balk at the portal, but it followed docilely as though unsurprised by the magical vortex. A few moments later, the three of them plopped out onto a rocky, dry mountainside in Utah. Virgil was gratified that Norman landed as easily as always, setting him on the scrubby ground after just a moment. The tiger exited the portal with a graceful leap and sat before them.

"Norman, I believe you owe me an explanation."

The Guardian nodded. "Bai Huo came to me when I was a young warrior, shortly after I earned my first ten-thousand years of life. He kept me company for almost a hundred years as we wandered the world. When he left, it was because he was needed to help another young one find their way on the true warrior's path."

Virgil assessed the tiger more carefully. It was substantially larger than most white tigers ever became, and the look in its dark brown eyes was uncommonly intelligent.

"He's not a normal tiger," Norman added.

Virgil glared mildly at him. " _Obviously_. I suspect he is a spirit of some kind, perhaps even a lesser deity."

Bai Huo rumbled low in his chest.

"But the question remains," Virgil said. "How did you happen upon the Cap? You must have been with the Mighty One. Is he alright?"

The tiger looked downward, his expression openly pained.

"Then how did you come by the Cap? Did you take it from him?" Virgil asked sharply.

Bai Huo's head came up at the tone and he growled darkly, clearly offended.

"That means no," Norman offered.

Virgil stepped forward then. With the tiger sitting, they were almost the same height. Virgil reached up and, heedless of the growl, touched a feathered hand to the tiger's head.

When he spoke, his voice was soft. "The Mighty One sent you away with it, didn't he?"

Bai Huo nodded with a slight whine.

Virgil nodded too, closing his eyes. "Only something extremely dangerous, a truly hopeless situation, could leave the Mighty One with no option but to surrender the Cap and send it away for safe-keeping. Not simply being lost in the desert. The Cap-Bearer must have been certain there was no possible chance for him to escape. That suggests danger of the highest order."

Norman stepped up behind Virgil and rested a heavy hand on the Lemurian's shoulder. He knew Virgil was remembering another Cap-Bearer who had left the Cap behind in order to save the world.

Virgil roughly cleared his throat. "But he isn't dead."

Norman swallowed harshly. "Of course he isn't."

"No," Virgil opened his eyes and turned to the Guardian. "This is not mere faith on my part. The Cap is here and still in this form. Thus, the Mighty One as we know him has not yet fallen."

Norman frowned with confusion.

"You know that the Cap's appearance is dependent upon the one who will wear it to victory, correct? When Maximus," his voice hitched very slightly on the first Cap-Bearer's name, "made the decision to launch a final stand against Skullmaster, that was when it changed its shape. Before that time, it had been a scarlet helmet. It was then that I knew Maximus would fail and another Cap-Bearer would be called."

"So, because it's still a ballcap, it means our Mighty One is still alive," Norman concluded.

"Yes," Virgil nodded. "But in perhaps the gravest of dangers. We _must_ find him."

"How?" Norman asked. "Bai Huo doesn't talk." His tension, which had faded somewhat at the unexpected appearance of his old companion, returned in full-force. Before, he'd been fearing an injured Cap-Bearer alone in a desert. Now, that same boy had apparently run into something much worse – and there was no telling how hurt he'd been to start with.

Virgil turned back to the tiger. "Can you take us to him?" He held out the portal scroll.

Bai Huo nodded once and bumped his nose on the parchment.

"Mighty Max is in Japan," Virgil said. "Come. We haven't a moment to lose."

-==OOO==-

Rowen stared into the darkness calmly, his normally-racing mind still for once. Rowen's guiding virtue of Wisdom was not necessarily synonymous with intelligence, and at the moment he thought he was not deserving of either.

"To be fair, I really didn't have any way of guessing about Skullmaster. None of us did."

But even though he could forgive himself for being so very caught by surprise, there was something far more insidious that held a prominent place in his thoughts.

"I thought we had more time. Even if Talpa could ever return, and I didn't think it was particularly likely, I estimated it would take him several years to build up enough power. I thought we could solve the problem of the armors and the virtues slowly – and we could heal the rift at the same time."

He closed his eyes with a pained sigh.

"I waved Sage off. I shouldn't have. There's no guarantee things would be better if we had acted then, if we had said something. But I'd be willing to bet we'd have more room to maneuver if Cye's guiding virtue was with us."

-==OOO==-

Cye curled his arms around his knees, clutching himself in the smallest, tightest ball he could make of his lanky frame.

"I was right. I was right all along. The evil in the armors is too strong. And now Max is going to die and that monster is going to use Talpa's power to take over the world. I should have said something. I should have told the others that we should fear the armors. We should have left them behind so that Skullmaster couldn't use them against us. We should never have trusted the armors!"

A powerful ache rumbled through Cye's chest.

"But would they even have listened to me? Why should they trust me when I can't even trust myself?"

-==OOO==-

Max couldn't tell if he'd been in Talpa's armor for hours or days or years.

He was losing track of what it felt like not to be in pain. His broken arm still screamed, but Max was so caught up in so many other aches it was just one more. And not just the aches of his body – which were grievous enough given that Skullmaster seemed to truly enjoy twisting the armor and bending Max's vulnerable body in increasingly devastating ways. Max didn't even know if he still had feet attached anymore; he certainly couldn't feel them.

But worse than the sickening crunch as the armor's arm bent his broken limb was the electrifying pulse that went through him as Skullmaster tapped into the boy's inherent powers. Max didn't even have words for that sensation, that violation of his spirit. Skullmaster could rip past the boundary of Max's body and grab onto his soul, tearing his gift from him and turning it to evil use. Max faintly remembered the warm pulse of the universe as it existed in the portals, the fierce strength of the cosmos when they answered him.

 _And now I'm polluting those very forces. Dirtying them, profaning them, defiling them. I'm so sorry_.

"You should be."

The low voice of Skullmaster wrapped around Max like a caress and he shivered.

"It's not bad enough that I'm strung up in here," he managed to gasp, "but I'd rather have you torture me with math homework than listen to you talk."

Max could _feel_ the glee that met his words.

"You may try to hide your fears from me if you wish. It makes your failing courage even more delightful. Play the brave hero for as long as you can. I will enjoy your final surrender all the more for it."

And that – that was what was breaking Max's spirit. More than the pain, more than the vileness of his gifts turned to evil. Skullmaster was sitting _inside his head_ , feeling his emotions, reaching in so that Max could conceal no pain, no fear, no shame. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to flee that Skullmaster couldn't reach him, read his thoughts, and pull them out into the open. And even as Max kept trying to be brave, kept trying to withstand it, his defenses were falling.

How long could one mind, no matter how strong, stand against such an onslaught?

Max felt like a frog staked out for dissection. He couldn't stop the sharp knives from cutting into him, seeing what was inside him, pulling it out at will. He couldn't keep his body from breaking apart. He couldn't retreat, couldn't escape. Skullmaster could pluck out his heart and slice it to ribbons, and Max could only watch.

"Yes, Cap-Bearer. _Feel_ your helpless impotence. Your _vulnerability_. Every paltry beat of your heart is mine, now and forever!"

Max grit his teeth. He couldn't think of a good, snappy comeback, but he resisted the despair. He could not, _would not_ allow Skullmaster's soul to hurt him.

"You don't have much choice about it, _hero_."

 _True, but I can try_.

"For every instant you resist me, every sinew of courage you try to raise against me, I will rain pain and humiliation and suffering upon you tenfold." Skullmaster's voice wasn't loud and threatening and angry, and that made it all the more frightening. He said it matter-of-factly, as if discussing the weather. It was the casual certainty, and the truth behind it, that shook Max to his bones.

 _Maybe that's all I can do. Maybe the only resistance I have left is just that – resistance. I can't stop him, I can't beat him, I can't even save myself. But maybe I can slow him down a little while he thinks about what he's going to do to me to break me. At least until he succeeds_. The hope surged in Max's chest. It wasn't much of a plan, but at least it gave him something to do.

"Ah, Mighty One. So foolish your hope, so charming your stubborn pride. Shall I demonstrate how _truly_ powerless you are?"

"Not sure it makes a whole lot of difference, Skully," Max shot back, even though his lungs wheezed as he said it.

"I'm certain I can find _something_ to entertain you," Skullmaster purred back.

 _Whatever he does to me, he's focusing on me. And I can keep him pinned right here. Or die trying_.

"Oh, you will. But not yet." Then the voice of Skullmaster sounded outward, echoing strangely within the suit of armor. "Go! Bring me what I require!"

The five Ronin suits of armor moved like robots, filing out the broad door of the tower room in silence. Max wasn't sure what they'd be bringing back, and he was certain he didn't really want to know. _Anticipating it won't make it hurt any less_.

Skullmaster was quiet for a while, his attention clearly not entirely on the boy trapped within Talpa's armor, and Max used the momentary reprieve to close his eyes and just focus on breathing in and out. It was a trick he'd picked up from one of his teachers at the various community centers where he took lessons for everything from acrobatics to diving. He envisioned the small, sharp woman who had said it to him months before: " _When the only control available is control of yourself, focus on it. Steady breathing and the reliable pulse of your heart may be your only companions, but as long as you have them, you will never face anything alone_." Max remembered telling her that if he didn't have breathing and a pulse, he'd be dead. She'd smiled slightly and nodded. And then she'd made him take another run at her dastardly obstacle course.

 _If I've got absolutely nothing else, even when I lose my nerve and Skully breaks my soul in half, I'll still be able to listen to my breathing and my heart-beat. It's better than nothing, and it might be the only thing I have left. Until he kills me. At which point, I won't care anymore either way_.

A few long breaths later, he wondered, _Will I even remember to listen by then? Will I remember anything about who I was before this_?

That was something else Max decided he just didn't want to know. Not that it mattered. It was one of a million things he couldn't control and couldn't do anything about. He had enough to worry about keeping himself sane for as long as he could. Borrowing trouble wasn't going to get him anywhere.

The slight clanking of the Ronin armors alerted Max that whatever Skullmaster was planning was about to begin. He opened his eyes and braced himself.

But nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met him.

The five Ronin armors were arranged in a ring. Boxed in between them were seven terrified civilians.

"Chain them," Skullmaster's voice commanded.

One of the armors – Strata, Max noticed, not that it made any difference since it sure wasn't anyone with his own mind inside it – separated from the others. The seven people might have tried to escape, but the four remaining armors simply closed in on them and held them, their superior and inhuman strength making them as unmoving as stone no matter the struggles of their captives. Strata retrieved a length of black chain from somewhere. One end it wound around the nearest pillar, bending the links to fuse it into a solid noose. Then, taking each person one at a time, Strata wrapped a portion of the chain around the throats of the civilians and bent the links until he had all seven people strung along the chain as if on a leash.

"Bow before me!" Skullmaster's voice roared.

The seven people sank to their knees, struggling and choking as the chain pulled them unevenly. Max looked at them, cold fear gripping his heart. Four were dressed for working in an office, two were dressed casually in jeans and shirts, and one wore pajamas. Five were men, two were women. All were white-faced and shaking in their fear.

"They were unaware until they entered your presence, Mighty One," Skullmaster's voice said slyly. "Your proximity to them removed my curse. It's too bad. They will know their fate and see it coming."

Max was torn between yelling at Skullmaster, demanding to know what was happening, and fearing the answer.

"Allow me to give you a better view."

Without warning, the chest-plate of Talpa's armor opened a little, enough for Max's head and upper-body to be exposed to the air and light. He flinched at the sudden brightness. But even as his eyes were adjusting, Max pulled at the strange power that held him immobilized. If he could get even a little room to move…

"Wildfire!" Skullmaster snapped. The red armor stepped forward. When it drew its twin katanas, Max's icy fear went sub-zero.

Talpa's armor took one of the blades in its right hand. It held it up in front of Max's face. "Seven innocent humans. One for each time we have met face-to-face." His voice went low and guttural. "One for every time you escaped me."

Max tried to look away, to close his eyes. But his body refused to obey him.

The man on his knees at the end of the chain was looking up at Max inside the armor with tears streaking down his face. "Please…no…" he moaned.

Max couldn't even blink when the katana fell and sliced the man's head from his body in one blow.

A scream tore its way from Max's chest, a scream of rage and pain and denial that had no words and was as feral and mindless as a nightmare. He screamed and screamed. But he could not look away from the dead man.

Skullmaster waited until Max had run out of strength, until his throat flamed with pain and his chest was sore. Only then did he speak.

"Music to my ears, Cap-Bearer. How long I have waited for this!"

Max could only shake his head numbly, feeling for the first time the hot, wet tears on his cheeks that ran down his neck and splashed on his front.

Tears…and something else. Max glanced down. His shirt was covered with blood, and much of it was not his own.

The armor of Talpa shifted to the side, to the second poor soul in line.

"No…" Max rasped hoarsely. "Please…"

This time, when the blade fell on the second victim, the spray of blood hit Max in the face. He could taste it as he screamed again, though his howls were ragged and strained.

After the third victim, Max turned and bit into his own shoulder to try to stifle the hysterical sobs tearing through him.

After the fourth, Max threw up on himself.

The fifth and sixth victims were panicking by the time Skullmaster approached, choking themselves on the chain at their necks. Skullmaster was obliged to order two of the Ronin armors to hold them still, and these he sliced through the heart to kill them instead.

Max realized he was oddly grateful for that, for something other than beheading, and he threw up again in horror at his own relief.

The seventh was the one in pajamas, and Max noticed dully that he was an elderly man. In spite of the chain and the carnage beside him, this man knelt quietly, his face blank.

"Do you not fear me?" Skullmaster taunted him. He waved an arm at the six bloody bodies in his wake.

"I pity you," the man replied in a low, quavering voice.

It took Max a moment to realize that the words were directed not at Skullmaster, but at himself.

Black eyes met Max's with infinite gentleness as he added, "Your fate is far worse than mine."

Max couldn't speak, was beyond anything resembling sense. He even couldn't have lifted his head if Skullmaster wasn't controlling his body. But he tried to say "I'm sorry" to the man with his eyes.

"This is truly only the beginning, Mighty One. We have a _world_ to slaughter together. And you have a lifetime to wallow in the knowledge that you are _powerless_ to stop it. That it is _your_ fault. That I have attained victory because _you_ failed." He chuckled. "Nothing I can do to your body will harm you like this will, and if you are like every other hero I have ever destroyed, it will hurt you _every single time_ for a long, _long_ while. I intend to savor it."

Skullmaster closed the distance between the armor and the last captive, close enough that he could grip the man by his hair – close enough that Max was inches from the man's chest.

Close enough that Max could have counted every single tendon and sinew and artery as Skullmaster sawed through the bared neck – _slowly_.

The man never made a sound, not even when the last breath in his body rushed from his lungs to where his throat had been opened and the hot air swirled around Max's head.

Max felt darkness beckon and he fled into unconsciousness.

-==OOO==-

Bai Huo stopped.

Norman instantly tensed – even almost ten thousand years couldn't keep him from reacting to the companion he'd known so long ago. "What is it?"

Virgil paused. He briefly reflected that it was well that their journey to Japan did not go by way of needing to cross any major freeways where such an abrupt halt could have far messier consequences. Instead, the birds of Colombia merely cooed at them with as much disinterest as they had acknowledged their arrival.

That disinterest vanished when the white tiger reared his head back and _roared_.

Amidst the fluttering of dozens of wings as panicked birds took to flight, Virgil looked to Norman. "What does it mean?"

The roar faded to a moan that reminded Virgil of a wolf's lonely howl more than anything else.

Norman's face went pale. "Something is really, _really_ wrong."

Virgil gulped around a dry throat. "We need to hurry."


	8. Faith

For this chapter, I do think it helps if you've seen the very last episode of Ronin Warriors. It's episode 39, and the English title is "Triumphant Warriors." It's even on YouTube. Though I REALLY don't know about Cye's "Surf's up" line. Dub-writers should really know better. Anyway, the chapter does make sense without the context, but I think it helps to really see the pivotal moment that ended the series and led to the emotional tangle in play.

Enjoy!

* * *

Faith slips – and laughs, and rallies. – Emily Dickinson

-==OOO==-

Ryo blinked.

"Are those…flower petals?"

He held out a hand. A stream of tiny white petals was falling from the darkness in front of him, trickling like a waterfall. The petals felt cool on his bare hand.

"Where'd they come from?"

He craned his neck to look up, but there was nothing – only darkness and the column of still-falling petals.

And then a soft voice sounded in the endless void. "Ryo of Righteousness."

"I know you!" Ryo grinned suddenly, cupping both hands eagerly to catch the falling petals. The presence in his mind grew stronger. "Lady Kayura!"

He could almost see her now – the young woman, descended of the Clan of the Ancient One, who had been enslaved by Talpa for centuries before Anubis's sacrifice of the Armor of Spring and his life had freed her. She had the same flowing hair and indigo eyes he remembered, eyes that had been so clear and wise once she had been released from evil's control. Once Talpa had fallen, Kayura had led the other three Armors of the Seasons back to the Netherworld to begin restoring it, and Ryo had never thought to see her again.

And yet, as the inheritor of the Ancient One's Staff and his powers and wisdom, Ryo could not have asked for a more helpful ally when all else seemed lost.

"Do you trust me, Ryo?"

"Sure!" Ryo said eagerly. "I mean, yeah, I do. But even if I didn't, at this point things _can't_ get any worse. So I'll take anything you've got." Then, more seriously, "If you know an Ancient trick to get me out of this, I could really use it this time."

"I cannot undo what has been done. But I can lift your spirit a little more into my keeping. I can send you into a dream, or so it will seem to you."

"Will it help us get free from Skullmaster?"

"I do not know. It depends on what you do with your time there."

"Then let's do it."

Then a strange warmth engulfed him and the darkness vanished in a swirl of tiny, snow-white flower petals.

Ryo found himself in a hazy garden. It was warm and filled with light, flowers, and the sound of flowing water, but any time he tried to look too hard at any one thing, it seemed to slide out of focus. Even the grass on which he stood became just fuzzy color and luminance if he tried to really see it clearly.

"Definitely an improvement," he said to himself.

"Of course, almost anything would be an improvement over nothingness," quipped a familiar voice behind him.

Ryo spun and grinned. "Sage! You're here!" Sage, unlike the garden, was defined and looked solid enough to hug. He offered a fist and Sage bumped it, confirming that _something_ here was real. Or at least was as real as Ryo was himself, anyway.

"I am," Sage nodded, meeting Ryo's grin with his own small smile. "And I believe the others will join us soon."

"Not necessarily," said Rowen who came into existence slowly, like dawning sunlight. His face was pinched and troubled.

"Why not?" Ryo asked. He looked between the other two as they exchanged uneasy glances. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Guys!" sounded Kento's voice. His form shimmered before growing solid. "I heard Lady Kayura! She brought me here." He was reaching out to clap Ryo on the shoulder when he froze. "Wait. Where's Cye?"

"He won't come," Rowen said softly.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he come?" Kento frowned. "Isn't he in that same dark place we were?"

Ryo looked at his team closely. Kento was frustrated and worried, his face hiding nothing. Sage appeared troubled as well, his eyes downcast and his demeanor still. But Rowen was squaring his jaw with a remote sort of expression that only barely betrayed his unhappiness. Ryo scowled; Rowen's face always gave him away – and it was a good thing, too, because it was one of the only ways Ryo had to keep up with his friend's brilliant mind. If Rowen was hiding his feelings, his thoughts must be dire indeed.

"It's my fault," Rowen said finally. "I should have done something about it." He looked over to Sage. "I shouldn't have kept you from trusting your instincts."

"Instincts about _what_? Done _what_?" Ryo's patience was running thin. "What's going on here? What's wrong with Cye?"

"Is it because he doesn't like to fight?" Kento wanted to know.

"No, it isn't that," Rowen shook his head. He sighed. "Cye's guiding virtue is failing."

Ryo couldn't help but yelp, " _What_?"

"You are correct, Rowen of Wisdom." Lady Kayura's voice sounded in the warm, vibrant air, though she did not appear. Instead, her words swirled around them with the petals that lingered in the air. "Cye of Faith has lost his way, partly through no fault of his own. And unless his virtue is emboldened once more, there will be no hope for any of you. The Ronin Armors must be united in spirit in order to succeed."

"What happened to him?" Kento asked.

Rowen sighed again. "We can all feel the shadow of evil in our armors. We all know it's there. But for Cye, it makes him doubt. He has trouble trusting us or trusting himself because he knows how easy it is to be taken in by that evil. We've all been there."

"Yeah, I remember," Kento said. "Dais got my head turned around more than once that way."

"And you lost your power," Ryo recalled. "You couldn't fight for a while because you didn't trust your armor."

"Exactly," Rowen nodded. "But for Kento, all he had to do was focus on his own guiding virtue – Justice. And if he kept Justice pure, the armor would be fine. With Cye, though…"

"His virtue itself relies upon his ability to trust his own actions, his armor, and us," Sage finished.

But Ryo was thinking. "I'm not sure that's all of it."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked him.

"Cye's been aware of the evil in our armors since the wars. And even if he didn't like fighting, he never gave up on Faith before no matter how bad it got. Even when you guys got imprisoned and drained by Talpa, he never lost his Faith. So what changed?"

Ryo stopped and let instinct guide him. The answer came to him as he recalled the last moments at the end of the wars. As he recalled his fateful decision to enter the armor of Talpa himself to hold it so his friends could destroy it. "Oh no."

Rowen caught the look on his face and drew the same conclusion. "The last battle with Talpa."

"What about it?" Kento was confused.

"When Ryo went into Talpa for us to take him down and we made our final charge, what did you do?" Rowen asked him.

Kento swallowed a little uncomfortably. "Uh, I sliced off a hand or something."

"Why?" Rowen pressed.

"'Cause I didn't want to hurt Ryo, even if he was telling us to take Talpa apart. I knew we had to do it, but I didn't want to have to kill him." His eyes widened.

"Cye didn't hesitate the same way," Sage said softly. "It was Cye who cut Talpa in two, who struck the fatal blow all the rest of us avoided." He closed his eyes. "I didn't realize he'd felt guilty about it all this time."

"It was the right thing to do!" Ryo clenched his fists. "It was what I _wanted_ you all to do!"

"But to a guy who's already struggling to have pure trust in something that he can't forget is evil, I bet it made Cye wonder. Wonder if the armor itself drove him out of some kind of violent, malicious impulse." Rowen ran a hand through his hair. "Wonder if _Torrent_ was actually trying to kill Ryo – and Cye let it happen."

"So what do we do?" Kento demanded.

"Even though the armors have been taken by evil, the power of the guiding virtues to which you are still connected remains," came the voice of Lady Kayura, "If you ally your virtues with my own legacy, I can draw him here in spite of his unwillingness to trust in the powers that bind us. However, you must help him find his Faith, and quickly, or any hope you have of undoing the evil that has been done will be gone."

"Let's do it!" Ryo said, shifting to stand in a circle with the other three. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. _Righteousness_.

 _Come on, Cye. Let us help you_ , Kento prayed. _Justice_.

 _I'm sorry I waited. I won't let you down again. Wisdom_.

 _Your feelings do you honor, but I will help you let them go with Grace_.

A rush of something that was not wind rose up around them, cycling and dancing. Even with his eyes closed, Ryo could feel the little flower petals that touched his cheeks, his arms.

There was a strange tremble in the air for a moment, almost as though the powers Lady Kayura commanded were uncertain. And then the light grew so bright Ryo had to shield his face even though his eyes were shut.

"What's happening?" he called.

Just as abruptly, the light and the rush of petals vanished. Ryo blinked his eyes behind his hand before he dared lower it.

In the middle of where Ryo, Kento, Sage, and Rowen had stood, Cye stood looking around with some mix of fear and wonder. And at his feet in the hazy grass was the curled-up, unconscious form of the Mighty One.

"Cye!" Kento grinned with relief. "You made it!"

"Max!" Sage had already dropped to one knee. He gulped. The boy's body was a _mess_.

"Don't touch him!" Lady Kayura's voice was sharp.

"What…what happened to him?" Cye found his voice, and he stepped back from the broken, bloody shape. He either had to move away or he wouldn't be able to keep from wanting to try to fix _something_ of what had been done to the boy whose limbs were all twisted unnaturally and whose skin was black and blue where it wasn't cut and bleeding.

"Skullmaster has been torturing him, body and soul," Kayura's voice was soft again. "When our powers drew Cye here, I found Max's spirit caught within the armor of Talpa as well. I was able to bring his soul here using my power alone, but I dare not wake him."

"Why not?" Rowen asked. "We could help him! Maybe heal him!"

"Yes, but any assistance you offer him now will only link him tightly more with the armors and virtues. Right now, the only thing keeping him from being entirely within Skullmaster's thrall is that his powers are his own. If you offer yours to him, you might spare him some pain and strengthen his soul, but when he returns to himself Skullmaster will have that much more influence over him."

"If that's what his soul looks like, I don't even want to imagine what he's doing to Max's body, or the city out there," Kento said, his voice unsteady.

"For as long as we leave him undisturbed, he can rest here," Kayura continued, her voice gentling. "As hurt as he appears, this is a relief from what he left behind. I wish to give him what little respite I have to offer him without endangering him further. My hope is that he will awaken with his courage and will restored after some time free from Skullmaster's evil."

"Okay. We'll leave him alone," Ryo said softly, not really able to look away from the ruined body. "Isn't there anything we can do to help him, though?"

"Of course there is," Rowen said, shaking Ryo's shoulder slightly. "We can reunite our virtues and get out of here. Get our armors back and finish what we started. And you know what we have to do to make that happen."

"Right," Ryo nodded once. He looked up to the other three. "Come on, guys. Let's find a spot we can sit down. We all need to talk."

Cye flinched. "Do we?"

"Yes," Rowen looked him in the eye steadily. "We do."

-==OOO==-

Max wasn't really aware of anything, but he found he could rest without pain. If he'd been any more awake, he'd have wept in relief. Instead, he sank into the welcome stillness and let it pour into his soul.

-==OOO==-

The five young men walked through the garden so they wouldn't disturb the injured Mighty One. Rowen subtly steered the group towards where a little brook ran happily between beds of flowers. Cye unconsciously drew close to the water, looking down into it with a hooded expression.

But his voice was carefully neutral when he asked, "What's up, Ryo?"

Ryo took a deep breath. "Cye…uh…you know we're all friends here, right?"

"Sure," Cye nodded, almost too easily.

"Well, and…uh…we've been kind of worried about you," Ryo continued, growing increasingly uncomfortable.

Cye sighed heavily. He turned his body so his face was hidden from them, his back to everything but the river. "It's all right. I understand."

"You do?" Ryo asked.

"Yes." Cye's voice was low. "I should have said something when I had the chance. And if we get out of this, I promise I'll help you find someone new to carry the Armor of Torrent so you won't have to depend on me."

"Cye, man, that is _not_ what we're looking for here!" Kento exclaimed. He moved to touch Cye but Sage caught his arm and shook his head.

"Help us understand," Rowen said gently. "Talk to us, buddy."

"What can I tell you that you don't already know, Rowen?" Cye asked. "Our five armors are interconnected, moreso than the full nine ever were. What happens to one happens to all of them."

Ryo's eyebrows went up in surprise, but Rowen just nodded. "Go on."

"From the first time we summoned the White Armor of Inferno, the armors changed. They didn't used to be this way. But now that we've merged them so many times…if one falters a little, maybe the others don't feel it. If one of the five was to be corrupted, though, then there's almost no hope the others would avoid it."

"Right," Rowen urged softly. "So tell me where you come into this."

Cye's head ducked lower. "All of our guiding virtues help us align the armors, but they have different roles to play. Justice gives the armors strength and endurance. Wisdom fuels their energy. Grace balances the different strengths and weaknesses to make a single power. Righteousness is the heart of all of it, the center to hold everything together."

"And what about Faith?" Sage's voice was quiet, as still and serene as the water that flowed.

"Faith binds them. Faith holds them together and keeps them connected. Faith allows the transfer of energy that unites the armors into one."

Rowen was still nodding, and he made a tiny, tiny smile. "So you know that we need you, then."

"What you need is Torrent," Cye replied with sudden heat. "Not me."

"The _armors_ might need Torrent, but _we_ need _you_ , Cye!" Ryo argued.

Cye spun in place, his fists tight at his sides. "No! I can't carry Torrent anymore. I can't and I won't!"

Sage crossed his arms. "Why?"

Cye's eyes blazed and he locked his gaze on Ryo. "Because I killed you."

Ryo took a step forward, never flinching under the tense, furious eyes on him. "No. You didn't."

"Only because Ully was able to activate the Jewel of Life," Cye shot back angrily. "If not for them, I'd have killed you."

Cye took in a shuddering breath and then turned back around, his shoulders trembling. He hunched his head low and pulled his arms up defensively.

Ryo was taken aback, but Kento moved forward without hesitation. He moved up next to Cye and, after only a moment to ensure Cye wouldn't push him away, tucked an arm around him and drew him into a hug, spinning Cye enough that he could no longer face away from the others.

"It's okay," Kento said softly. "We're here now."

Ryo expected tears, but though Cye's face was flushed and screwed up in a tight expression of suffering his eyes were dry. Cye held himself stiffly in Kento's arms, as if he were torn between rejecting and embracing the comfort being offered.

"Let's get one thing straight," Ryo said. He moved closer and positioned himself so that he was directly across from Cye's face. "You did the right thing with Talpa. You did what I asked you to. And if we were right back there again and there was no Jewel of Life, I'd want you to do it all over again. I don't blame you. I never did. I'm proud of you, Cye."

"I am, too," Sage put in quietly. "It took real courage to do what you did. Courage the rest of us didn't have."

Cye's glittering eyes met Ryo's. "I _killed_ you."

"No," Ryo shook his head. "You saved me. You saved the world."

"If your positions had been reversed," Rowen said, "would you have blamed Ryo for striking you down?"

"It's not the same," Cye shook his head.

"Why not?" Ryo wanted to know.

"It's because of Faith, isn't it?" Kento spoke softly against Cye's head where he had not let up his hug. "It's because if it were Ryo hitting you, he'd be doing it out of Righteousness. But when you took down Talpa, you think it broke the trust between you and Ryo. Maybe you and all of us."

"You can't tell," Sage realized. "You can't tell if it was the evil in Torrent that wanted to kill Ryo or if it was the good in you that wanted to save the world. And you feel like you betrayed us because you struck Ryo down. And if you betrayed us…"

"Then I am not worthy of Faith anymore," Cye finished on a whisper. "And I can never trust Torrent again."

"They're two different problems, you know," Ryo said. "I think we all have some thinking to do about whether we want to trust the armors after this thing with Skullmaster. Remember, Torrent didn't get corrupted first – that was me in Wildfire."

"As it is, you held out the longest," Sage put in. Cye ignored him.

"If we get out of this mess," Rowen's voice was solid and confident, "we'll have to do something about the armors. Something to either get rid of the evil forever or else lock it away where it can't influence us. If we all work together, I'm sure we can find a way."

"So, yeah, we're all a little uneasy about the armors right now," Kento said. "It's just worse for you because you _need_ to be able to trust yours in order to keep your guiding virtue pure, but the rest of us can use a pure virtue to keep the armor together. It's like a house of mirrors for you." He squeezed his arms tighter. "I never really thought about how tough it must be on you."

"It's not…I mean," Cye closed his eyes. "It _wasn't_. It didn't used to be so hard."

"But then I put you in an impossible position," Ryo said. "You either had to betray your friend – and your guiding virtue – or betray the whole purpose of the armors and the world."

"And because we didn't have your courage," Rowen added, "you didn't really have a choice. If one of us had struck a more serious blow, you wouldn't have had to finish Talpa for us."

"Which makes all of this our fault," Sage finished. "What you had to do is because of us. Not you. You stepped up to cover for us when we didn't do our jobs."

"Killing Ryo shouldn't have been _anyone's_ job!" Cye said tightly.

"But I _made_ it your job," Ryo reached out and put a hand on Cye's shoulder. " _I_ did that. Not you. Even if it was your hand and your weapon, it was me striking the blow."

Cye surged in Kento's hug and tried to break free. Kento held on, gamely resisting Cye's strength and refusing to budge.

"Why are you doing this? I know we need Torrent, but I can handle it for just one more fight. Why can't you leave it alone?"

"It's not Torrent we need," Ryo said, squeezing where he held onto his friend. "It's _you_."

"Well, apparently you've got me," Cye said, and there was bitterness in his words. He gave up struggling against Kento with a slump.

"No, we don't." Rowen closed in as well, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryo. "You don't trust yourself. You don't trust us with you. And that's hurting Faith which makes Torrent vulnerable. But honestly?" He smirked. "I don't care about Torrent as much as I do about my friend Cye."

Sage completed the tight knot. "You don't have to protect us from you. We're not afraid of you."

Cye froze.

"Is that what you think?" Ryo asked, glancing at Sage. "You think we're afraid of you? That we're not safe with you?"

Cye swallowed thickly and looked away.

"How do we convince you?" Kento's voice was warm. "How do we make you see that we trust you? That our trust isn't misplaced?"

"Faith has to be earned," Rowen said quietly. "Not only is it the only guiding virtue that has to be based on something external, but it's the only one that can't exist in a vacuum. A person can believe in Justice or Wisdom by itself. But you can't just _believe_ in Faith. You have to _have_ it. And you have to have Faith _in_ something else."

"We can't do it for you," Sage said. "Faith can be earned, but it's _you_ that has to practice it. It's _you_ that has to embrace it. We could try to prove ourselves to you, but ultimately, _you_ have to trust in _us_."

"And in yourself," Ryo added.

Cye shook his head, his face pale. "You can't…you shouldn't…"

"But we do," Kento said. "We trust you. We have Faith in you."

"You _are_ worthy of Faith. And you _can_ handle Torrent. I'm absolutely sure of it," Rowen said.

"You did the right thing and you were braver than I was. You took care of us, like you always do," Sage said.

Ryo ducked so he could knock his head against Cye's. "Thank you for taking the shot with Talpa. It's actually the best test of Faith there ever was."

Cye's eyes were wide and his voice was the barest croak. "How?"

"Because I had Faith that you would save the world when I couldn't do it myself. Even the Armor of Inferno couldn't save the world. But I knew you would. All four of you. And when it came down to it, _you_ did it, Cye. You and your Faith."

Cye made a low sound in his throat and dropped his head to rest on Kento's arm.

"And I'd do it again," Ryo continued. "I'd do it again and I'd be just as sure that it would all work out. Because you won't ever let me down. You've always been there for us. All of us. You take that being-oldest thing seriously, don't you?"

Cye's breath hitched.

"You do," Ryo said, and he couldn't keep a little awe from his words. "Even though I've got Wildfire and Rowen is the smartest and Kento is the strongest and Sage is…whatever he is," he winked at Sage. "Even though Torrent has the worst time recharging because there's never any water when you need it. Even though you don't like fighting. Even though you'd _never_ fight again as long as you live if you could. You've been looking out for us all this time."

"You've earned Faith a million times over, buddy," Kento said softly. "Earned it because we trust you with everything. Just like you trust us. And I know you do."

Cye nodded once.

"Could all four of us really be this wrong about something?" Rowen asked.

Cye paused for a moment before shaking his head back and forth in tiny motions.

"Continue to trust us," Sage said, smiling gently. "If nothing else, put your Faith in us. And we'll put ours in you. And that will be more than enough to handle all the armors."

Cye's voice came out tiny but heavy with emotion. "I've…always put my Faith in all of you."

"I know you have," Ryo said. "And because of it, there's nothing we can't do if we face it together."

He bumped the top of Cye's head with his forehead. "If we all take care of each other, you have nothing to worry about. All our lives have always been in your hands, if Faith is what makes the armors work together. And you've never let us down. And we'll never, ever be afraid that you will. We know your heart, Cye. We've always known it."

"…I know yours, too."

"So what about it?" Ryo whispered. "How do you feel now?"

Rowen and Sage closed in and their arms came up until there was a huge multi-way hug with Cye held tightly in the center. Kento never let up his grip even if he found a way to shift Cye so that the others could all reach him.

Cye took in a long, slow breath. As he let it out heavily, he lifted his head. He met their eyes one at a time, shifting around the tight circle slowly. He took in the smiles, the warmth, the friendship, the brotherhood. The trust. The absolute, shining trust being shared with him.

Cye closed his eyes. _I can put my whole heart into Faith in them. And they have put theirs in me. No matter what happens to Torrent, nothing can stop me from trusting them with everything I have. And…nothing will stop them from trusting me. I killed Ryo…I killed Talpa…and our Faith is unbroken_.

Cye felt his heart begin to glow.

It was echoed by a sudden, brilliant kanji on his forehead. _Faith_.

Four grins lit up as four other kanji rose to meet it. _Righteousness. Justice. Wisdom. Grace_.

 _Whatever happens now_ , Cye thought as he opened his eyes and accepted his place, his friends, his brothers in battle and virtue and spirit, _we will meet it together_.


	9. Power Over Nothing

Some things become clear, and others get worse. Let's be honest – it's not going to get better for anybody for a while.

But nobody's down and out, not yet. Our heroes have reserves of strength...and it's a good thing, too.

Enjoy!

* * *

The worst pain a man can suffer: to have insight into much and power over nothing. – Herodotus

-==OOO==-

Virgil and Norman stood with Bai Huo on a deserted freeway on the edge of Toyama. The sky overhead was dark and the buildings rose up like jagged columns of glass and stone, silent and foreboding.

"It cannot be the demon Talpa," Virgil said after a few moments of consideration. "His affairs have never been those of the Mighty One. The prophecy was very clear on that, so much so that a splinter Clan was sent from Lemuria to ensure that there were arrangements made to cope with his rise a thousand years ago as well as more recently."

Bai Huo huffed.

"Then what is it?" Norman asked. His voice was rough and stony. Being led around was not helping his growing and deep concern for his boy.

Virgil glanced to the tiger. "Can you lead us to where you last saw the Mighty One?"

Bai Huo nodded and started along the road towards the center of the city. Virgil tucked the Cosmic Cap into his robes where it would be secure against his body. He felt a pang at its familiar weight. Virgil had carried the Cap for five thousand years after losing Maximus. He had hoped never to carry it in the name of another lost Mighty One again.

 _He is not lost to us. And he will not be, not while we live to serve and defend him._

Before they had moved more than a few city blocks forward, however, they were obliged to take to the rooftops due to the crowds of silent, clearly hypnotized or otherwise magically-controlled people. Virgil had no gift for rooftop-hopping, and while normally he would have protested being hauled around by Norman like a sack of flour, this time he endured it silently.

With every passing step, the worrying absence of the Mighty One and the ominous darkness were weighing on him more and more.

Virgil chanced a glance to Norman after the first few leaps and saw the Guardian's face drawn and tight as it had not been since the mountaintop in Ethiopia – a different world's Ethiopia. In a moment when he had been helpless to watch as the life was ripped from the Mighty One in a sacrifice that likely saved two worlds from destruction. And the Mighty One had returned, had come when called by Norman's frantic aid and, as Virgil had learned later, the kindness of the ancient goddess that had judged the boy worthy of his gifts.

Nothing, not the Jar, not spiders, not Skullmaster himself, had frightened Norman like that moment had. As in this moment.

"Norman," Virgil said in a low voice.

Norman paused before taking another leap across an alleyway and glanced down at him.

"He's still alive."

Norman's face moved as though it were trying to smile and gave up halfway. "I know that. But he's not okay. And the closer we get, the more I'm sure."

Virgil nodded. "As am I."

They fell into silence and Norman continued following Bai Huo. Nothing else mattered until they reached the Mighty One.

-==OOO==-

Max woke slowly. He didn't have any disorientation – he knew before he was even certain he _was_ awake that he was still bound within Talpa's armor and his body was half broken apart. But, though his heart was ripped and torn, a pulsing black hole of sorrow and rage, his mind was surprisingly clear and calm. Remote, almost, as though his thoughts came to him through a thick, heavy wall that divided them from the rest of himself.

He waited for several long, silent seconds before cautiously thinking behind the shield of that distance, _He can't hear my thoughts_.

And there was no rush of Skullmaster's reaction or even an acknowledgment.

 _It won't last_ , he knew. He knew it without needing to wonder how or from where. _But I have it for now_.

And though he was tempted to spend the blessed silence and isolation indulging his emotions and his desperate, desperate horror and grief, he forced those feelings down with a wrench of stubborn strength.

 _I might not get another chance. I have to use this while I can_.

So Max waited, focusing his thoughts on counting his heart-beats and keeping his breathing slow and even and his body lax as though he were still unconscious. Skullmaster would likely only give him the barest of opportunities, and he intended to be ready for anything, the slightest sliver of a chance.

Anything to begin to fight back.

 _I'll never, ever be able to make up for this. For what I've done. And I'll definitely die trying. But I have to do whatever it takes to stop Skullmaster or take him with me first_.

-==OOO==-

When the hug finally broke apart, it was Sage whose head turned suddenly. "Max is gone."

The other four looked across the hazy garden to where the broken body of the Mighty One had been, but there was nothing – no trace of him.

"He is needed," came Kayura's voice. "I have done all I can to aid him."

"Is he going to be alright?" Ryo asked.

Kayura's words were low. "I do not know. But he is prepared to try, and that is as much as any can ask of him."

"What about us?" Rowen wanted to know. "How do we help him?"

"Brace yourselves," she answered. "You will have but one moment when Skullmaster is weak and you may act against him. Now that you are united, you may well succeed. But perhaps not in the way you hope."

"What does that mean?" Kento asked with an impatient huff. Cye shook his head fondly and nudged his friend.

There was no answer.

"Kayura?" Sage called.

"Where'd she go?" Ryo frowned.

"If I had to guess," Rowen said slowly, "she's doing her part to help us. We better be ready for whatever we get."

Ryo looked to Cye, and Cye smiled and nodded. "I'm ready," he said softly.

Ryo grinned at him. "Then so are we."

-==OOO==-

Norman noticed the suits of armor that were clearly not alive long before they noticed him. A small army of shadowy, inhuman somethings wearing grey-green armor stood sentry on the streets throughout the crowd of mindless civilians. And dozens were spread on the rooftops around the clear area Bai Huo was leading them towards.

"I could use a good fight," he muttered.

When Virgil saw the soldiers, he hissed. "Those _are_ Talpa's. I know them from my scrolls. This makes no sense. Talpa was fated to be defeated by those called to defend against him. And that battle was a year ago. Even with the Mighty One's inadvertent adjustment to time and fate, that should have been unchanged."

Bai Huo stopped striding towards the edge of the current rooftop and turned back. His dark eyes found Virgil's and held them.

Virgil was never one to be accused of an overabundance of intuition, but something in the steady, intent, direct gaze drew his mind to a completely wild leap of understanding. He sucked in a breath and hedged the simpler, less dire conclusion he'd drawn.

"Talpa's powers have been taken by someone else."

Bai Huo nodded, but the gaze remained and Virgil was forced to give voice to the rest of the inspiration that had struck.

"Someone with the power, knowledge, and will to defeat the Mighty One."

Norman froze. "No."

Bai Huo growled at him.

"Virgil," Norman pinned the Lemurian with a livid gaze, "you are _not_ telling me he's been here all this time alone with…"

Virgil swallowed. "Skullmaster. I fear it can be nothing else."

Bai Huo huffed and nodded.

Norman's face went pale, then red. He couldn't look at Virgil so he scowled at the tiger instead. "Get us there. _Now_."

The tiger turned and sprinted at a speed Virgil was certain no flesh-and-blood creature could attain. And, as he bumped along under Norman's arm, was proven wrong. Apparently such speed was not out of the reach of a flesh-and-blood Guardian with a charge to protect.

In times past, Virgil would have reminded the Guardian that the Mighty One was destined to defeat Skullmaster, was prophesied to be victorious. But those words shriveled in his beak before he even finished forming them. While true, Virgil had learned through keen experience in the last few years that the Chosen One could only succeed if he was able to delay the final confrontation for a while longer. That if Mighty Max attempted to fulfill his destiny before he was ready, chance and fate would not be with him as they should have been.

Which made it more important than ever that Virgil and Norman rescue him before it was too late.

Another leap, and Norman set Virgil on Bai Huo's back, his eyes already on the waiting suits of armor. Norman drew his sword and charged with a roar of fury that should have split the sky. While Virgil clung to the thick striped fur and tried not to fall off as the tiger made his own efforts in battle, Norman fought like a man possessed. Every one of the Dynasty soldiers that came even vaguely within reach found Norman's blade slicing through armor and leaving broken metal and shadow in his wake. The demon soldiers charged in waves and Norman dispatched them the same way.

They never stopped moving. No matter how many Dynasty soldiers Norman carved apart with the pent-up rage of a supernova, nothing prevented his mad charge forward, Bai Huo keeping pace and Virgil holding on desperately. Rooftops flew by and demon shadows fell and dissipated and the dark heart of the city that was the castle before them grew closer and closer.

When they finally dropped to street-level, the area was deserted. The hordes of civilians had vanished inside the last few dozen yards around the park and Toyama Castle. And what Dynasty soldiers had been near were shortly in pieces on the ground.

Virgil looked across the grass and saw one of the nearby towering buildings appeared as though it had been hit by a missile and suppressed a shiver.

Norman was getting ready to charge across the pavement to the grass when Bai Huo darted across his path, forcing the Viking to stop before careening into the tiger and Virgil.

Norman growled inarticulately.

Bai Huo growled right back.

Virgil slid off the tiger's back in an ungraceful action. Norman couldn't help but give in to habit and steady the fowl. As Virgil straightened his robes and ensured the Cap was safely tucked, he peeked at the Guardian. Norman's face was cold and remote and still. Not quite berserking, but close.

"We must proceed cautiously," Virgil warned. "We don't know for certain who is within, nor what they might have done with the Mighty One."

"I think we're about to find out," Norman replied, his eyes fixed on the shadows ahead.

Virgil placed himself between the pair of warriors and peered into the darkness. Six vague shapes were approaching, appearing out of the dusky haze like ghosts.

"Those are the armors of the Ancient Clan," Virgil whispered as soon as he could make out the forms. "They ought to be the ones who defeated Talpa, who protect Japan from such demons."

"I don't think they're protecting anything right now," Norman returned.

"The armors are corruptible," Virgil said. "I think we may assume whatever power has taken on Talpa's abilities made use of that weakness to turn them against us."

"So I did, _old friend_."

Virgil's blood ran cold and Norman went as still as a statue with his sword out and his feet braced to charge.

Five Ronin armors and Talpa's armor emerged from shadow, standing in the green grass made black by the darkened sky. And yet, there was no denying Skullmaster's face laughing from the emblem on the demon armor's chest, nor the voice that would haunt Virgil long after humanity finished its time on the planet.

"I thought you'd be here earlier," Skullmaster said through a mask that did not move. "You're slipping, Virgil."

Virgil drew himself up. "What have you done with the Cap-Bearer?"

"Oh," and there was no mistaking the laughter in the voice, "he's _around_. But he no longer carries the Cosmic Cap, as you well know."

Virgil let out a slow breath, his thoughts racing. "You propose a bargain."

"I propose _nothing_ ," Skullmaster said. "But if you wish to _gamble_ with me, I would not refuse such an offer."

Virgil's blood went from cold to icy. "What do you want, Skullmaster?"

"It's what _you_ want, old friend. You want the boy alive and unharmed, I assume. Unfortunately, if you had been _punctual_ , that might have been possible."

Norman's body was vibrating with rage, but he fought the urge to charge. He could not win a battle with Skullmaster on the field of words and cleverness. And he had to give Virgil the chance to succeed in at least finding their boy before he could risk upsetting the delicate balance.

Virgil's eyes burned with his own fury. "If you've hurt him…" he threatened.

"Oh, I _have_ hurt him," Skullmaster replied with broad amusement. "But I wonder what you would do to keep me from hurting him more."

And the chest cavity of Talpa's armor opened and revealed the unmoving captive inside.

Norman's rage became an _inferno_ and he threw his head back and roared a scream of pain and hate that rivaled that of Locknarr which had leveled a mountain. Only Bai Huo darting over and clamping his jaws around Norman's thigh to pin him in place kept the Guardian from belling challenge and striking for Skullmaster no matter the consequences. And even then, Norman nearly tore his leg off in his incoherent berserking rage.

While Norman gave in to his barbarian heritage, Virgil's heart went cold and rational instead. He mentally cataloged the damage done to the boy from what he could see: the strange angle by which he hung from his arms suggesting breaks in each, the spray of blood that coated his face and chest, far too much to not be fatal, which hopefully meant it was not his, the limp pallor of his face and the hollow shadows under his eyes and the remains of bile mixed with the blood on his front. And undulating around his helpless body were coils of dark energy that seemed to seep into his skin.

Virgil found his voice. "Is he alive?"

He could feel Skullmaster's smile even if the armor didn't move. "Yes. He was a bit… _overwhelmed_ by our work together."

Norman was straining against Bai Huo's grip, panting heavily with his head down and his expression darker than the sky above.

Virgil forced himself to remain stoic, focused. _My feelings will not save him_. "Then what is the price for him?" he asked. "For his life and freedom?"

"Would you offer yourself, my former teacher? Take his place and allow me to ravage you body and soul as I have done your _precious_ Chosen One?"

Virgil did not hesitate. "Yes."

"I'm afraid that's not good enough. Your broken body would amuse me, don't despair, but not as his does. So fragile. So foolish. So hopeful…until the end."

Virgil wasn't surprised. If it had been that easy, Skullmaster would have drawn it out. "The Cap, then?"

"Why trade away my prize for something I can _take_ any time I wish?"

Virgil resisted the urge to open his beak only to clack it down on silence. _He's correct. I must find something to draw his interest or Mighty Max is lost_.

-==OOO==-

 _Sorry you have to see me this way, guys_ , Max thought. He'd kept his eyes closed and continued to feign unconsciousness, though it was harder and harder as he listened to Norman's pain and the strange, alien coldness of Virgil's voice.

But Max persevered. _Skullmaster's going to give me an opening here. I can feel it. I'm ready_.

Virgil spoke again. "If you had no purpose for this discussion, you would already have taken the Cap from us."

 _Come on, Virg. Get him to slip. I know you can do it_.

"Or perhaps I merely wanted to enjoy your pain and suffering as I have enjoyed his."

 _Almost there, Virg. I can feel it_.

"Have you achieved your victory, then? Realized total power and true evil for yourself?"

"So it seems, my old friend. How does it suit me?"

 _That's it! He's lying. I don't know how, but I can tell he's lying._

 _Wait. He could hear my thoughts and feelings. Maybe I can feel his...Yeah!_

 _Ew..._

 _Okay. Wade into it. Gross, but useful._

 _There's something…about the power. It's not absolute, not yet. There's something he's missed…_

Virgil sneered, "You are nothing more than a puppet master with a metal shell doing your bidding. You will never know true power while you languish trapped in the earth. You have no body here to enjoy your victory."

 _No body. Because he's not here. This armor is empty..._

 _But the others aren't._

 _The Ronins. Virg, that's it! The Ronins are still in their armors, and even if Skully's got the armors under his control, there are still five guys getting carted around inside who aren't. And maybe…maybe that's what's messing with his perfect victory._

 _Not that making Skullmaster any stronger is on my To Do list anywhere, but if anybody's going to be able to handle Talpa's armor, it's the Ronins. If I can get them loose, maybe they can find a way with Virgil and Norman to set things right. I think those guiding virtues aren't down for the count yet, and if I can shake them from Skully's control, they might be the edge we need._

 _And maybe I can save someone who doesn't deserve to die stuck in a tin can._

And so he began focusing all his efforts, pushing his thoughts and will outwards in the hope to plant a seed in the soul that surrounded him. _The only way to total triumph is to force the humans out of their armors so that you can fully absorb the evils within them. Only then can you use the full power of Talpa's evil_.

Skullmaster's voice rang with anger as he replied. "The evil of Talpa's armors is absolute. With it, I will soon be free!"

"Ah, but you do not wholly command that power, do you?"

 _Yes! Way to go, Virg!_

Virgil began to deduce what Max had already realized. "I know as well as you that portions of Talpa's power were fused into those armors at your side. And for as long as they hold it, it cannot be yours."

Max could _feel_ Skullmaster absorbing that truth.

"And what would you suggest, _old friend_?" Though the words were spat with hate, Max could tell Skullmaster was honestly asking. That on some level, Skullmaster feared Virgil might well be more intelligent, more able to solve this problem.

Max launched another, tentative tendril of doubt outwards. _The guiding virtues weaken the armor's evil. Cast them out with the humans who bear them._

As if reading his mind, Virgil said, "Let the boy go and I will show you how to cast the guiding virtues from the armors so you can absorb them fully."

Max felt the shift as Skullmaster seized onto both ideas at once and insight zipped through him with dark glee.

"Wrong as _usual_ , Virgil," Skullmaster taunted. "For all I need do is remove the human element from my armors and there will _be_ no more guiding virtue, no more flaw to my perfect power of evil and darkness!"

Talpa's armor stretched upwards, arms raising. Max couldn't help but let out a soft grunt as his abused body was jerked, but it was lost in the swirl of power and the sudden rush of wind as Skullmaster summoned Talpa's strength.

Black lightning split the sky.

The people under Skullmaster's control all began to moan with one sickly, eerie voice.

And with an audible crack like the world snapping in half, the Ronin armors vanished in a nimbus of hazy, shadowy light.

Max cracked open one eye to see.

Five spheres of light hovered before Talpa's armor, the colors swirling with streaks of dark power like inks mixing in a bowl. As Skullmaster shouted words that were lost in the wind, each sphere of light flashed with the symbol of the guiding virtue held within.

 _Justice._

 _Wisdom._

 _Trust._

 _Grace._

 _Righteousness._

Max could feel his own heart rise with those virtues and knew what he could do.

 _Here goes nothing!_

-==OOO==-

The garden suddenly melted away into shadow around the five Ronins.

"It's time!" Cye yelled.

"What do we do?" Kento asked.

But the voice who answered him wasn't Kayura's. It belonged to Max.

"Hang onto those virtues! Take them with you and leave the armors behind!"

"Max!" cried Rowen and Sage.

But Ryo grabbed onto his team and held on, all five intertwining hands and arms. "No time! We have to trust him! Focus on your virtues and don't let them go!"

-==OOO==-

The symbols for the five guiding virtues shattered like glass and dark shadows flowed into the void.

And five human bodies dropped from the light.

The spheres of light, suddenly liberated, soared through the air to Talpa's armor.

When they hit Max's body, they hit with a feeling so cold it _burned_. Max screamed in surprise.

"Ah, you're awake," came Skullmaster's voice after a moment.

Max focused on getting both eyes open, ignoring the wetness that came from the stinging of his skin and bones after that painful chill. It was either that or pay attention to the sudden sinew of alien awareness slithering through him again. The distance and isolation that had held him apart was gone and now there was only Skullmaster embedded in his mind and soul.

"Your friends have arrived, but too late. The Ronin armors have surrendered their evil to me for all time!"

Skullmaster held up the arms and gloves of Talpa's armor, revealing a pulsing, multi-hued crystal about the size of a softball.

"And they have given me this!"

Max couldn't get his voice to work yet, but he thought at Skullmaster, _Nice paperweight_.

"Oh, I have missed your obstinacy. We shall have to break your spirit _again_ , it seems."

Max shuddered at Skullmaster coiling through his thoughts and feelings – it was almost worse now that he'd been spared it for so long.

"Mighty One!" Virgil's voice was wretched.

Max felt Skullmaster lift his head for him so he could see the Lemurian at the edge of the grass. Max had never seen such pain in his friend. Nor such rage in Norman, who was almost incoherent though he had stopped fighting White Blaze.

The shadows of Skullmaster's laughter curled around Max's body with uncomfortable warmth. "Shall we tell them what you have done, boy?"

 _No. Please no. I didn't_ …

"You did. _Your_ power. _Your failure_."

 _Don't…no…I didn't…I…_

The darkness sank into Max's chest with leaden weight and he felt despair bloom anew.

"What is that thing?" Rowen was the first of the five Ronins to get his bearings. He climbed to his feet, feeling the wet grass through his jeans and on his arms, confirming that the armors and sub-armors were gone. But his eyes were all on the strange crystal in Skullmaster's hands.

"Pitiful mortals. The evil that was the forging of your armors is mine, linked with my own armor forever more. And what remains is a gift you will soon _regret_. For from the remains of your armors, from the elements and magic of the Ancient Clan left behind, I have _this_!"

"Nice paperweight!" Kento yelled.

Max felt a moment of gratitude for the Ronins' cheekiness. _Anything to get Skullmaster's attention off me for a little while_.

"Fools!" Skullmaster's voice boomed. "For this is the seed of a new Crystal of Souls!"

 _Two Crystals of Souls…_ Max's heart trembled. _That's…he'll be unstoppable. What have I done?_

The precarious wall between Max's thoughts and his raw, terrible emotions shattered. And there was again the suffocating knowledge of death and that old man and blood and Max's failure and a pain so deep it should have stopped his heart. He wished it had.

"And with two Crystals of Souls and the power of the Mighty One, there is _nothing_ to prevent me from ruling this world any other I choose!"

"This is really bad, isn't it?" Ryo asked, rolling his shoulders. "And our armors are gone."

"Even without the armors, we're not out of this fight yet," Sage said.

Skullmaster chuckled. "Allow me to demonstrate my new power!"

And as Talpa's armor spread its arms widely and Max bit back another cry of pain, brown and grey fire spat from the armor's mouth towards the unprotected Ronins and Norman and Virgil and White Blaze.

"Look out!" Max choked, the power of the evil making him feel as though he were the one on fire.

Everyone scattered from the attack, rolling away and finding cover behind whatever was nearest.

Norman was first to his feet and nothing could have prevented him from charging Talpa's armor at full speed. But Skullmaster slammed the chest-plate closed, trapping Max in darkness once more.

Norman managed two blows with his sword against the armor before black lightning struck and blasted him through three buildings.

"Your powers are meaningless! I have the very soul of the Chosen One to fuel me now!"

Virgil scrambled to his feet, helped by one of the young men who instinctively formed up around him defensibly. "You cannot use the power of the Mighty One without his permission!" he shouted.

"And what makes you think he is in any state to refuse to give it?" Skullmaster replied.

"I don't remember the kid shooting fire," Kento remarked.

Virgil looked at the stoutest of the Ronins. "The Mighty One may tap into the deepest powers of the universe, the fabric of creation. We _cannot_ permit Skullmaster to have access to it!"

"He wouldn't do it voluntarily," Sage said with a stubborn flash of anger.

Rowen looked to Virgil. "Does Skullmaster have the innate ability to impact the minds of others?"

Virgil shook his head. "No. But Talpa did."

"So it's possible that Max no longer possesses enough willpower to resist. It's not about permission – he's just getting brainwashed like all those people out there," Rowen concluded.

Virgil swallowed. "It's possible." _Oh, Mighty One. First your body and now your soul. What other horrors has Skullmaster inflicted on you, my boy?_

"Maybe we can snap him out of it," Ryo suggested. "Like he did the people in the streets."

"We can at least try," Sage agreed.

"And not get fried in the meantime," Kento added.

"You…you have helped him," Virgil looked to the Ronins. "He is…very important. We _must_ save him."

"We understand," Cye told him. "Don't worry. We're not leaving him there."

"You must and you will!" Skullmaster's voice roared. The clouds overhead began to swirl.

"Max, listen to me!" Ryo shouted. "Talpa's armor can't handle human virtues if they're pure. Fight with what you've got inside you and you'll weaken him!"

"Do not bother me with your _sentiment_ ," Skullmaster sneered. "But perhaps you should know that the so-called Mighty One no longer believes he _possesses_ any virtues. And I think he is correct!"

"I don't buy it!" Rowen yelled. "Where's the kid who waltzed in here without a weapon or armor or a plan and still went toe-to-toe with an army?"

"You could wear the Armor of Wildfire," Kento put in. "You already proved you've got everything you need, buddy!"

"He's right!" Sage added. Then, suddenly inspired, "Max! Your guiding virtue is Courage!"

Skullmaster's laugh echoed in the air. "Not anymore! What courage he once carried has been broken!"

"No." Cye's voice was steady and almost cool. "You're wrong about him. I have Faith in the Mighty One." The virtue washed through him like a wave and the bright kanji burned on his forehead even though Torrent was gone from him. "You do not have the power to corrupt his soul."

"Would you like to test that theory?" Skullmaster asked, the armor stepping forward.

Cye never backed down. He shifted in place until he was directly in front of the armor from his nightmares.

"Cye, don't!" Ryo called.

Talpa's hand came up and began to burn with dark light.

"So much raw power in one so small and weak," Skullmaster's voice was smooth and cruel. "And he lets it flow through him for me to use."

"You won't hurt me, Max. I know you won't," Cye said softly. His whole body was beginning to glow with the strength of his conviction.

"And that trust shall be your death!"

The hand lashed forward.

Nothing.

" _What_?" Skullmaster roared.

And a voice, raw and hoarse from screaming but buoyant enough to be heard, sounded from inside the chest of the armor.

"Down...but not out...Skully. Not...not yet."

"That's my boy!" Norman grunted as he pulled himself out of the nearest wall he'd gone through.

"Cye," Rowen grabbed his arm. "Your Faith. It worked!"

"So maybe we can fight him after all!" Kento cheered.

"Yeah, but there's no mystical sub-armor this time, so we have to be careful," Ryo reminded them. "Talpa's armor is as strong as ever. We're going to have to be smart about this."

"That leaves you out," Sage said aside to Kento. The banter was forced, but it helped.

As the Ronins were rallying themselves, Skullmaster had turned his focus entirely inward. Unseen to any of the gathered heroes, Max was being _inundated_ , _flooded_ , _filled to the brim_ with Skullmaster's hate and anger and fiery power.

It burst through any resolve Max thought he'd had left, whited out his soul in a blast of nameless agony.

 _Stop it…stop it please…I can't…_

"Do you want to die yet, little Mighty One?" Skullmaster whispered.

 _I…anything…just make it stop…make it stop…makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop…_

" _Good_. Your suffering has only just begun, but your _surrender_ is assured. Relax, _Chosen One_. There is nothing to fight anymore. You are merely an _exposed nerve_ waiting for pain at my discretion. Oh, and Mighty One? I have _very little_ discretion."

Max felt the hate and power grow, _double_ , _triple_ around him. He was beyond screaming. And he couldn't seem to fall unconscious, couldn't seem to vanish into it. It _hurt_ and it _hurt_ and it _kept on hurting_ until he was wild and mindless with it.

"And now for your friends."

When Skullmaster turned his attention back to those amassing against him, he was almost cheerful.

"You think to stand and fight me? You who are powerless?"

"We'll do whatever we have to!" Ryo yelled.

"Oh? And what will you do to _them_?"

As Talpa's armor's arms rose, the Ronins and Virgil and Norman all turned. The civilians who had been absent the scene were approaching, their movements stilted and uncertain, their eyes blank.

"Will you kill them? Will you allow them to kill you?"

Norman gripped his sword and his eyes flamed. "I'll kill anybody I have to in order to get to you," he growled.

But Virgil latched onto one wrist and the tiger caught his ankle in his jaws.

"Norman! You cannot slaughter innocent people! Not even to save the Mighty One." Virgil gulped. "He wouldn't want them to die for him."

"Oh, old friend. People have _already_ died for your precious child. Have died _at his hand_. His body is _coated_ with their blood." He laughed. "By all means! Kill _more_! His pain will only grow for every life lost in his name!"

Virgil lost his grip on Norman. "No…he could never…" His voice went breathy with shock and rage. "What have you done to him? _What have you done_?"

"I," Skullmaster's voice rang, "have won."

"Uh, guys?" Rowen was calculating the speed of the brainwashed civilians and coming up with a figure he didn't like. "Either we fight him really, _really_ fast or we've got to get out of here."

"We can't hurt those people. We have to avoid fighting them at any cost," Sage added.

"We can't leave Max!" Ryo shook his head.

But the white tiger left Norman, who seemed as frozen as Virgil, and thwacked Ryo with his tail as he growled.

"White Blaze?" Ryo looked to him.

"Max!" Cye called. "Hang in there, buddy. We won't leave you there for long. I know…I trust you understand why we can't stay."

"Norman, please." Virgil's voice was low and pleading and the enraged Viking looked down into his face with his own expression twisted almost inhumanly.

" _I'm not leaving him here like this_."

"And how much blood will you spill to try to save him?" Virgil asked. "Norman…he won't thank you for it. He…he may not be able to endure as it is. The guilt, Norman. I _know_ you understand me!"

"I _don't_ care!"

"But Max does." The even, calm voice of the former bearer of Halo broke through the stalemate. "We can't…we can't fight Skullmaster and Talpa's armor and an army of innocent people. We need a plan."

"And we're not going to find one here," Rowen said.

Kento's own face was torn like Norman's. "And leave the kid like _that_!?"

"What other choice do we have?" Cye whispered.

And then a voice sounded from within the demonic armor. "…go…please…"

"Mighty One!" Virgil called, aghast at the wretchedness of his voice. What had Skullmaster done even in the last few minutes to destroy what had been a stubborn taunt of triumph to such…desolation?

"Virg…Normie…go… _please_ …"

It was like ice to Norman's heart. And every fiber of his body and soul, every sinew and bone and drop of blood yearned to charge and fight and die if that would save his boy. But he could not, _could not_ disobey that plea. Not from Max. Not like that.

"Come on," Ryo said softly. "We'll be back. He knows we'll be back."

"And I will be waiting," Skullmaster informed them.

White Blaze took off to the west, skirting the edge of the park and heading towards the river.

 _There's a portal that way_ , Virgil thought numbly as he fell in with the others who followed at a run. _He must have remembered it from the map_.

But Norman and Virgil couldn't stop looking behind them, hearing the cruel laughter that wafted through the air. And somewhere under that laughter was the tiniest sound of a heart breaking and a boy in _unimaginable_ pain.

And Virgil and Norman left him to face it alone.


	10. Love and Doubt

Lotsa stuff in this chapter. Some of my evolving headcannon, a little of Skullmaster's ultimate goal, some references to earlier stories in the Fate Is A Gift series, and some tiger-y shenanigans. And Virgil. Usually I highlight Norman's heart because I love his feelings so, but this time it's our poor Lemurian whose emotions are raw and out there.

Warning for just a little gore, but after this, things will start to look up. I promise.

Enjoy!

* * *

Love and doubt have never been on speaking terms. – Khalil Gibran

-==OOO==-

It was not raining in Sri Lanka, but the sorrow was thick enough that seemed it should have been.

The instant the portal closed behind the tangle of them, Norman stalked off into the dense jungle, White Blaze at his side.

"Hey!" Kento yelled after him.

"Let him go," Virgil said firmly. He drew himself up to his full though diminutive height, tucking the Cap away and crossing his arms tightly against his robes. "He's only barely keeping his temper. Some time alone will help him regain control."

"He gonna be okay?" Ryo asked. "I mean, I know White Blaze is with him but…"

Virgil sighed. "The Guardian's sacred duty is to protect the Mighty One at any cost. Norman…takes that very seriously." He swallowed. "I don't believe he will entirely approach rationality until the Mighty One is returned to us."

"Yeah, we know how that feels," Rowen said gently. He extended a hand. "I'm Rowen. We're the Ronin Warriors."

Virgil nodded and took the hand. "Yes, I surmised as much. I am Virgil of Lemuria."

"I'm Ryo and this is Cye and Kento and Sage." Ryo, Cye, and Kento all nodded in greeting.

Sage offered a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances. We'll have to rush through the pleasantries. What's Lemuria?" Sage asked.

"It was once a great civilization that spanned the globe. Many thousands of years ago, our civilization reached the end of its time. I am one of the last." He moved on to more pertinent facts. "One of our offshoots became the people you would have known as those who created the armors, the Ancient Clan I believe they are called in your parlance."

The Ronins exchanged glances. It was Cye who said, "So you know all about the armors and Talpa and all. Max did say he had a teacher who knew practically everything and who was the one to tell him which evils to fight."

"That's correct," Virgil said. He was focusing on simple statements, anything to keep from what really mattered. He didn't have Norman's luxury of venting his feelings by violent or any other means. He had to be ready to give everything he had to save the Mighty One.

"We need to get back there," Kento said fiercely. "We need to get there and help Max and stop that guy before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" Ryo asked.

That stopped Kento in his tracks. "Huh?"

"You said 'before it's too late.' Too late for what?" Ryo repeated.

"Uh, I dunno. But…it feels like…" He trailed off and shrugged.

"I feel it, too," Sage said after a moment. "Something is happening."

"Do you know?" Rowen asked Virgil.

"There are several distinct possibilities," Virgil said, and yes, leaning on probabilities and tactics, that was easier. "Skullmaster could be preparing to open the earth to release himself from where he is confined. If that is the case, we should have at least a few hours before he succeeds." Virgil paced a little. "Alternatively, he could be increasing his region of control or his powers by taking advantage of the people and territory he has already subjugated. In which case, the longer we delay, the more powerful he will be and the less advantage we may have against him."

"What about Max?" Cye asked, his voice soft.

Virgil paused and said painfully, "Yes. He may be simply amusing himself with the helplessness of the Mighty One."

"Then let's get back there," Ryo's eyes were flinty with anger. "Find us a portal to get us close and this time we won't run no matter what happens!"

"We don't have any more of a plan now than we did before," Rowen protested. "We can't just charge in blind. We don't have the armors anymore. We're only going to get one shot at this before Skullmaster blows us all to bits. We have to do this right."

"He's got a point," Cye said. "We won't help Max or ourselves if we don't find an advantage against Skullmaster other than the fact that we still seem to maintain the power of the guiding virtues."

"So we need to find a way to use them," Sage concluded.

Virgil had already kneeled down to the ground, absently pushing some low groundcover to the side in order to expose the rich, dark dirt of the forest floor. With a sharp stick, he began sketching idly.

"What's that?" Kento frowned.

"I am calculating various possible outcomes of different avenues of attack," Virgil answered without looking up.

Kento shrugged and made himself useful clearing more of the area to give Virgil a larger space in which to work. Rowen peered over Virgil's shoulder and set his full attention to interpreting the Lemurian's scratches. Cye and Sage and Ryo watched them for a while.

"What's that?" Rowen asked suddenly.

Virgil paused in his equations and glanced to the area Rowen was indicating. It was a set of scratches apart from all the others. Virgil had written extensively for a while, then circled the whole portion of marks and crossed through them with a deep stroke.

He looked away. "For a time, I neglected to recall the current state of the Mighty One. I was assuming his presence and the power of his innate destiny would be with us. But that is an assumption I cannot make at this time, so I moved away from that line of investigation."

"What does that mean, his innate destiny?" Ryo asked.

Virgil sighed. "The Mighty One is a foretold hero of great power who has already saved the world from peril many dozens of times. Among other duties, the Mighty One is the hero destined to enter into combat against Skullmaster himself and defeat him." He paused. "When we have faced Skullmaster in the past, it is the destiny of the Chosen One that has given us the edge to defeat him and escape."

"Then why are you writing him off?" Kento wanted to know.

"I am not _writing him off_." The words came out harshly. Virgil had to take several deep breaths. "But there is no telling if the Mighty One will be in any fit shape to aid us. You saw as I did the damage done to him, and clearly Skullmaster has means to hurt him that do not leave physical signs."

Sage nodded slowly. "His body has been broken, but I think Skullmaster is also influencing his emotions. Maybe worse."

"What's worse than ripping his body apart and making his feelings go haywire and killing people in front of him?" Ryo asked with a dry throat.

"Believe me," Virgil's voice was heavy with worry, "Skullmaster has inhuman knowledge of how to cause pain and suffering. He has had thousands of years to prepare for the coming of the Mighty One, and I don't doubt after our previous interactions that he will stop at nothing to destroy the boy in every way he can."

"Then how is Max supposed to stop somebody like that?" Cye demanded. "He didn't even have a weapon on him when he got here!"

"It is the way of destiny."

It was Rowen who looked up, his face pale and his eyes slanted with fury. "What, he's absolutely destined to win even if he shows up to fight Skullmaster empty-handed with no back-up? How, exactly? Drop him off a cliff?"

Virgil flinched and his shoulders rose as if to ward off the words.

Ryo felt his own temper boiling. "I get that he didn't exactly plan to face him this time without you and that big guy to protect him, but at least when we took on an ancient evil demon we had armors and some training and some pretty heavy firepower to use."

"Hey, don't gang up on the guy," Kento protested. "He's obviously doing his best."

"For _who_?" Rowen snapped. "For Max? Or for this destiny thing? Because it seems kinda badly thought out to me!"

Cye looked into Virgil's eyes and understood all at once with sharp insight. "The prophecy isn't that Max absolutely _will_ beat Skullmaster, is it? It's that he's the only one who has a _chance_."

Virgil was silent.

"Does he know that?" Sage asked.

Virgil shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was low and tremulous. "No. Norman does, though. We…well, after the first few encounters, we decided we'd let the boy settle into his destiny a little more before we told him. It's…a difficult burden to bear."

"Then if he only has a _chance_ to win, how could you have let him walk into a fight without any way to protect himself?" Ryo had to battle to keep from yelling.

"I didn't!" Virgil shot back, anger taking over his sorrow. "He…he was taken from us…and we thought he was lost…"

"And by the time you knew he was alive, he was already here," Rowen finished. "Weaponless and empty-handed."

"It's not the weapons that matter," Sage said then.

Ryo looked over at him and his face twisted as he started warming up to argue. "Sage…"

" _No_ ," Sage's voice was sharp. "It's _not_ the weapons that matter. Just like it's not the armor that matters. A kitchen pot or pair of scissors can be enough in the hands of the right warrior. Mastery of a sword does not guarantee victory. It is mastery of _oneself_."

"And that," Cye said as he closed his eyes, "is what Skullmaster is trying to break."

"So we need to stop fighting each other and focus on finding a way to beat him," Kento said. "The longer we sit here, the more time Skullmaster has to hurt the kid."

Virgil let out a long breath and went back to his scratchings. But after a few minutes, he paused and looked up.

"Please don't tell him about the prophecy. I will tell him when I must. But…I fear…even if we are successful, he will be in no fit state to hear something of that magnitude."

"You really do care about him, don't you?" Sage asked.

Virgil stared at the stick in his hand a long while before he answered. Once he began to speak, his words flowed away from him as though released after being pent up for a lifetime – as perhaps they had been.

"I had been waiting for the rise of the Mighty One for five thousand years. Norman and I wandered the world throughout that time in order to prepare certain events for his arrival. I spent so long thinking about my duty, about his destiny, about the battles to come. The Mighty One was merely a figure, a variable in the equation like the Cosmic Cap. Even after we met, even after we began our work together, the fact that he was merely a child eluded me for a time.

"He has seen things no child should see. Has survived things no child should ever have to survive. And he has saved the world in ways you could never imagine. He showed power and courage far beyond his years, beyond anything I could ever have taught him. His heroism comes not from his destiny, but from his heart."

He stopped and then spoke even more quietly.

"Not long ago, the Mighty One was pushed through several difficult trials. As was I. And I was…informed that my devotion to the ways of prophecy were admirable, but misplaced. My allegiance and loyalty should not be do that which was laid down in ancient times, but rather to the flesh-and-blood hero who depends upon me now. I have…struggled to recall that the one who commanded the cosmos is little more than a boy, and yet in other ways he has not been a child since the day he first donned the Cap.

"My own people are long gone and forgotten. In the thousands of years I have carried on their legacy alone, the Mighty One is the first to give me a purpose beyond overseeing their last will. And he…has sacrificed much for me. Would, I have seen, willingly trade his life and his destiny to save me, as foolish as that is. Though I would do the same for him.

"Mighty Max is a hero, is perhaps _the_ hero of the history of the world. And when we thought he was dead on the street of Hong Kong, I did care for the future of the world but not as I had in the last five thousand years. I focused on the prophecy because it was all I had left.

"Somehow, that boy's life and heart are more precious to me than the fate of the very world. If he were to be lost, I would serve the world in his absence – it would be the only way I could continue to serve him. But I would be more alone than I was after the fall of my own people.

"Yes, I care for the boy by orders of magnitude never before calculated by even Lemuria's greatest minds. And we must find a way to save him, or the world will surely burn."

What he didn't say, what he _couldn't_ say, was that if the world burned but Max were spared – impossible as it was; the boy would never survive the destruction of that which he had been entrusted to protect – Virgil would watch the flames with a heart both heavy with grief and unspeakably relieved that at least Max remained.

Because Virgil, like Norman, had finally realized that he too loved his boy more than the fate of the world. It was a betrayal of Lemuria and all that had been, and Virgil _no longer cared_.

-==OOO==-

After that, the Ronins left Virgil mostly alone, realizing belatedly that his calm and rational exterior was merely his way of coping with what was staggering emotional difficulty. He wasn't out in the jungle tearing trees apart with his bare hands as Norman probably was, but he was no less torn apart and raging inside – it just manifested differently.

So the Ronins settled in to help however they could. Rowen and Sage were the most likely to be able to assist with planning an assault on Skullmaster, so they worked with Virgil as his strange scribbles began to make sense to them after enough exposure. Cye and Kento alternated standing guard and venturing a little ways away to retrieve what might be needed – water, fruits safe to eat, a new stick to scribble with, dry wood for a fire.

Unable to sit still and not needed for camp duties, Ryo headed off into the jungle by himself, intending to find Norman and bring him back so they could get moving. He couldn't just wait. Not while Max was there with Skullmaster and people were dying and that might not even be the worst of it. Not while Virgil's suffering was intense beneath the surface and his iron control was the only thing keeping him from losing his focus, to say nothing of Norman who had vanished and not yet returned. Not while he himself had been helpless to stop any of it when he'd had the chance back in Toyama.

 _Because what could I really have done about it_? Ryo thought to himself. _And what can I do now? My armor is gone. The swords won't come to me like this_.

But it wasn't really that and he knew it. Ryo was certain he could snatch a weapon from one of the Dynasty soldiers and make it work for him. He wasn't trained from the cradle for combat like Sage and Cye and Kento had been, but he'd done his best in the last few years to make himself at least equal to the armor if not to his friends without Wildfire's advantages. Rowen, too, though not practiced in combat as such, had a natural athleticism and that plus his tactical mind often made up for what he lacked in experience and training.

 _But how can I fight without the armor? Without Wildfire, I'm just a kid with nothing._

 _Like Max was. And he fought anyway._

 _And he lost. We all did._

 _The others are counting on me to lead them. If I let the guys down now, we'll never even make it to Skullmaster, let alone have any shot of stopping him._

 _I don't…know if I can do this._

The fear was sobering. Throughout the conflicts with Talpa, Ryo had struggled at times to keep his head up, to keep fighting, to maintain the confidence to lead and continue on. And the others had helped him, each in their own ways. Kento had kept him smiling. Cye had gently and subtly believed in him, restoring his faith in himself. Rowen had deferred to his instincts, and when the genius went along with a plan, that always helped to boost his spirits. And Sage, someone who could probably wipe the floor with all of them on a bad day with nothing more than a pencil in his hands, had acknowledged Ryo as the stronger.

 _But was that me…or Wildfire?_

And that was the worst part. Without Halo, Sage was still a master martial artist. Without Torrent, Cye was still heir to a clan who taught spear-work from infancy, plus a genuinely brave person considering he walked into this fight with those doubts in his heart. Without Hardrock, Kento was still mountainously strong and a capable fighter in multiple disciplines. Without Strata, Rowen was still probably one of the smartest people in the world.

 _Without Wildfire, what am I?_

He missed the feel of Wildfire with him. Even without the sub-armor, the Wildfire talisman had been a living thing, a tiny star of power Ryo had felt was almost a part of him. In his years of carrying it, he'd become accustomed to drawing energy from heat even without donning the armor, had felt the power of fire from the hearth as keenly as ever in battle. The absence of Wildfire, the loss of the armor, it pained him like a lost friend. Even now, Ryo was reaching into a pocket to touch the familiar talisman and assure himself of its presence and strength – only to remember that it was gone, absorbed into Skullmaster. All its power and potential had been turned to evil.

Ryo realized he had stopped moving and was staring at the ground before his feet.

 _I received the Wildfire armor…but did I ever really deserve it?_

Something hit him from behind and Ryo almost tumbled into a tree. He turned with his hands up defensively.

To receive an enormous weight against his chest pinning him to the ground, heavy claws flexing dangerously against his shoulders.

"White Blaze! What are you doing?"

The tiger growled low in his throat, his huge jaws pulled back in a snarl that showed his teeth. But in spite of that, though he was heavy enough to crush Ryo flat, he hadn't actually harmed him. And the claws which could tear flesh from bone easy as ripping a leaf in half hadn't so much as punctured Ryo's shirt.

Still, Ryo shoved at the great cat. "Get off, buddy. You're heavy!"

White Blaze growled even louder, some of the hair along his ruff and spine beginning to rise and Ryo could see his tail swishing.

"Okay, I get that you're mad at me. Is it because we left Max behind?"

White Blaze's growling lessened slightly but he did not ease off.

"Of course he is upset about that," came a voice. And Ryo twisted his head to see Norman stalking out of the trees. The Guardian's body was dripping with sweat and he was smeared with sap. And his expression was no less dire than it had been the first time Ryo had seen it.

"That wasn't…I mean, we couldn't…"

"Bai Huo is upset by that, but he doesn't blame you. It wasn't your fault," Norman finished.

"Bai Huo?"

That earned a tight smile that didn't reach Norman's eyes. "It was his name once. Long ago."

"White Blaze." Ryo turned back to his tiger. "You knew him. You…helped him like you help me?"

Norman snorted. "A lot more, I think. I was a lot scrawnier than you back then. And it was a much harder world in which to survive alone."

"Okay, so if you speak White Blaze's language, what's up with this?"

Norman crossed his arms. "Bai Huo is able to do many things, but his abilities and choices will be influenced by the one to whom he has currently given his loyalty. In your case, he probably attuned himself to your feelings in order to keep an eye on those evil armors of yours."

"So…you knew what I was thinking?" Ryo turned back to his tiger friend. Then, "Oh."

White Blaze huffed and then opened his jaws and made a low sound, breathing hot air on Ryo's face. A few paces away, Norman made a rumbling noise of his own.

"Look," Ryo said, and he would have squirmed except for all the pounds of angry tiger pinning him motionless, "I just…I don't think…"

"Let me guess," Norman put in. "You don't think you can do this."

Ryo gulped.

"Well, I don't care if you think you can or not," Norman's voice was sharp. "The Mighty One believes in you. That's enough for me. It _should_ be enough for you."

White Blaze actually turned away from Ryo to make an angry noise at the Guardian.

"I don't care what _you_ think, furball," Norman frowned. "I don't have time to coddle him."

White Blaze actually bounced a bit with a sharp huff, eliciting a gasp from Ryo as he felt his body jerk with the tiger's weight.

"Yes, you are. You haven't drawn blood yet. That's coddling."

In spite of himself, Ryo snickered.

White Blaze bounced again and sat his lower half down on Ryo's legs – hard.

"Can you _not_ use me to prove a point here, White Blaze?" Ryo complained.

"Look," Norman said flatly. "The armor chose you. The Mighty One trusted you. And Bai Huo thinks you're worth it. If you can't pull yourself together and act like the hero they all think you are, there's no point in us waiting for you. The Mighty One's life is more important than your doubt."

"I agree with that part, at least," Ryo admitted.

Norman's expression softened somewhat. "There was something about guiding virtues earlier. Something that kept your armors from being overrun by evil. What kind of virtues?"

Ryo sighed. "Righteousness. I'm…supposed to bear the power of Righteousness with Wildfire."

Norman nodded. "I can see that. The Mighty One has a lot of that, too."

"He could wear my armor and he didn't get corrupted, and then he gave it back to me without any kind of trouble," Ryo said quietly. "I didn't know anybody could do that."

"If anyone can do something, it's usually the Mighty One."

"Then why didn't Wildfire choose him in the first place?"

Norman frowned. "He's the Mighty One. He's not a Ronin Warrior. It's not his job."

"Yeah, but he's got the virtue all figured out, and he's clearly strong enough to stand against evil."

"And you're not?"

"Skullmaster corrupted us," and the words hurt to say. "I led my team into a trap. We left Max there. So, yeah, I'm not sure I should be the one in charge anymore."

"You're not in charge of _me_ ," Norman said firmly. "I only take orders from the Mighty One."

"And White Blaze helped him, kind of sided with him," Ryo went on. "He's a lot more of a hero than I am. He doesn't need armor to fight."

"Well, you don't _have_ armor to fight with anymore," Norman said. "But it's still your job. That Talpa armor is _your_ problem and _you're_ going to deal with it."

"But…"

"You're stupider than me sometimes, you know that?" came a new voice. Kento strode into view.

"Hi. Uh, I am?"

"Duh." Kento frowned at his friend. "What, you think we're not all wondering if the armors would have been better off with other people who wouldn't have gotten taken in by Skullmaster? You think we haven't all thought we're not good enough? Where were you during Cye's crisis of confidence? You know, where we all kind of let each other down because we lost track of what really matters here?"

"I remember. So what are you getting at?"

Kento crouched down beside Ryo. "You're right about one thing. Max does have a lot of Righteousness in him. And Justice and Faith and Grace and Wisdom. And Virgil's got more Wisdom than maybe anybody, including Rowen. And this guy," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Norman, "probably has more Justice than me, too."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Not helping, Kento."

"Yeah, but you're still missing the point. There's always going to be somebody better than you at everything, but that doesn't make them the right person to be standing where you have to be. Just because Max could wear Wildfire one time doesn't mean you aren't the one who beat Talpa. We needed it to be you, Ryo. Wildfire came to you because we needed it to be you. Because what makes you who you are is the right thing to win this fight."

White Blaze huffed onto Ryo's face and then licked his head thoroughly.

"I think he agrees," Norman said dryly.

"Stop! Okay! Fine! I'm Wildfire because I just am and I get it and _stop that_!"

White Blaze finally backed off Ryo and let him sit up. Kento offered him a wrinkled tissue from his pocket.

"Thanks, Kento. How'd you get so smart, anyway?"

"Hanging around us too much," came Cye's voice as the others appeared out of the jungle.

"Ryo, quit lying around. We've got work to do!" Rowen admonished with a faint smile.

"There's a plan?" Ryo scrambled to his feet.

Virgil looked at Norman with a long, silent, sad expression. But he finally broke the gaze and nodded. "There is little we can hope for, but we have the beginnings of an idea that, I pray, will be enough. But we must move quickly."

"You got your head all figured out?" Sage asked Ryo. "We're going to need you ready to fight with everything you've got."

"I…yeah," Ryo nodded. Then, because that wasn't enough, "There's a lot I'm not sure about, but I'm sure I'm going to be right here helping you guys save Max and the rest of the world. What happens after that, well, we can figure it out then."

Virgil nodded and drew out his portal map. "Then let us begin."

-==OOO==-

When Talpa's armor unexpectedly tore Max from inside the cavernous darkness, he would have cried for relief if it hadn't hurt _so much_. Talpa's armor yanked him around by his broken arms, knocked his battered legs into the unforgiving metal of the armor, and every inch of freedom cut into pains that Max had barely suppressed already.

"Your broken body is rather a thing of beauty," Skullmaster remarked. The suit of armor dumped Max on the smooth floor of the tower room right by a metal cauldron filled with wood and burning merrily.

Max couldn't stop his fall at all and screamed as broken bones impacted and crunched against one another. He couldn't even curl into a ball – his legs wouldn't work. And his arms flopped alarmingly, agonizingly. A strange, sharp pain in his back and chest made it hard for him to breathe.

"You look like a fish torn from the sea," Skullmaster said with obvious satisfaction. "How easy you are to control when your body has betrayed you. As you have betrayed your world."

Max blinked tears away and forced himself to respond, "No, I haven't."

The smoke from the fire – or was it from Talpa's armor? – curled around him. "You have. And now I will have a second Crystal of Souls _far_ more powerful than the first. Only _you_ could have given me the power to forge such a crystal from the magic of the Ancient Clan once of Lemuria. Once finished, this Crystal of Souls will be _many times_ more powerful than my own, and fueled with _millions_ more souls to command!"

From his angle, it was hard for Max to see what Skullmaster was doing, but he could tell the armor of Talpa had gone to one window standing open.

"With this crystal seed combined with the powers of Talpa, I no longer need _request_ the willing transfer of souls. Observe!"

The armor raised its arms and did something – Max couldn't tell what – but the next instant the air was filled with wailing. Max closed his eyes. He could _feel_ the souls, _thousands_ of them, being pulled from the helpless people ranged below. People who could not help but be torn from their bodies and enslaved further even though it was not their will but Skullmaster's own.

"Stop it!" Max managed to scream.

The torrent of souls slowed and stopped and Skullmaster turned.

"That is merely _half_ of those I command in this city alone. And with every hour, more people come to join me. Even _I_ do not know how powerful my new Crystal will become with unlimited souls within it. We shall discover it _together_." He paused. "Unless…"

The suit of armor loomed over Max.

"Give me _your_ soul, Max. Surrender to the Crystal. And _perhaps_ I shall spare some of those who remain."

Max started to cry, but he still shook his head. " _Never_ ," he whispered.

"Come. You have _already_ failed. Surrender and let it be done."

With a flash of insight, Max shuddered. "This...this is what you wanted the whole time, isn't it?"

"Only now do you realize. How _pitiful_." He chuckled. "Only you have the power to resist me now. Such useless power that will only bring you _more_ pain."

Max gulped. "I'm not...giving in to you. I won't...let you take me into your Crystal. No matter...what."

"How _heroic_. It would, of course, have ended your body's suffering. But it would also have granted me limitless power over the cosmos. The choice is yours and in time I _will_ convince you. But you will _regret_ your refusal until then."

A pair of green Dynasty soldiers appeared with a woman held between them.

"Give me your soul, Mighty One," Skullmaster ordered.

Max somehow got his head to turn enough that he could see the woman who wept between the guards. He forced bile down and repeated, "Never."

"Very well." Talpa's armor drew a sword and plunged it into her heart.

Max choked on a cry even as the body crumbled.

"How many will you kill, _Mighty One_? Bring me another!" Skullmaster commanded.

 _If I give him my soul, he'll have all the power he needs to rule everything everywhere. I can't do that. I can't. Or these people would be dead anyway and billions with them. I can't do it…_

The armors returned with a middle-aged man limp with terror.

"Give me your soul, boy!"

Max moaned and shook his head as much as he could.

"More blood on your hands, then. Some _hero_ you are, _Chosen One_."

The armor cut diagonally and split the man in half, letting his remains tumble to lie atop the dead woman.

Max heard a weird, helpless keening noise and realized belatedly that it was coming from himself.

"Give me your soul. How many more will you kill?"

 _I can't. I can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry…_

-==OOO==-

"Norman."

Virgil's voice caught the Guardian's attention. Norman did not slow his pace along the pavement, did not fail to continue striding towards the next portal, though he did look down to his Lemurian companion.

"You were right."

If the situation hadn't been so serious, so deadly serious, Norman might have stopped in outright shock. Instead, he just frowned.

Virgil was keeping up at his side, the years of having to follow after Norman's long legs and Max's natural speediness allowing him to speak without fighting for breath. But still, his words were clipped and low.

"In Hong Kong. You were right."

"I know that."

Virgil flinched. "I…I felt the same way you did. Of course I did. But I…"

"You were worried about the prophecy. I get it."

"No!" Virgil almost shouted. He took a breath to compose himself. "Well, yes, I mean, obviously I was. I will always have to think about the prophecy. It's my duty. Just as yours is being the Guardian."

Norman shrugged.

"But…when the Mighty One went over the building…" Virgil fought the rising memory of panic and despair. "I didn't…it wasn't the prophecy I wanted back. It was him."

"I know that."

Virgil looked up with astonishment. Norman couldn't quite manage a full smile, but his face softened minutely. He held Virgil's gaze silently until the Lemurian looked away with a nod.

Virgil of all people knew better than to underestimate Norman, but not in the way most people didn't underestimate him. In a fight, anyone who assumed less of the Viking met a quick, crushing defeat. But Virgil had spent thousands of years with Norman and knew that his barbaric appearance and rough manner hid a keen mind and sharp insight of his own. Norman saw and comprehended more than most ever realized, and his choice to remain silent was just one more way in which he cultivated an advantage over any potential adversaries.

Virgil wasn't surprised somehow that Norman had perceived and understood the evolution of his feelings long before he himself.

"If we…if we're too late," Virgil managed after a few moments, "will you come with me?"

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

"I…I cannot let his extraordinary bravery be in vain. If I have failed…if the only way I can serve him is to carry on protecting the world in his name…as I would hope he would want…then I will."

Norman recalled Virgil stealing the Cap a lifetime before and running to a mountaintop on which to attempt to destroy it – better that than allow the prophecy to fail and the world to fall. So much had changed, and nothing more than Virgil himself. But then, that was the influence of their Mighty One. He could talk the birds from the skies and a river from a stone.

And the long-dormant heart from an immortal Lemurian.

"If we are too late…I can't sit and wait for another Chosen One this time. He…wouldn't want that. For either of us." Virgil gulped. "So…would you come with me?"

Norman closed his eyes for a fleeting moment before he answered. "Yes. But not to save the world."

"The Mighty One would not want you to court vengeance in his absence, Norman," Virgil said gently.

"Do you what you have to and so will I." Norman's voice went gravelly and tight. "If we lose him, Skullmaster and every evil power will suffer like never before. That's a _promise_."

But Norman took a deep breath of his own and continued more calmly, "I will follow you as long as you keep that in mind. I don't care about the world the way you do."

"Yes, you do, Norman," Virgil whispered. "You always have."

But he also knew what Norman meant. He understood that, if they failed the Mighty One now, Norman's love for the world, his innate and driving sense of justice, his need to defend and protect, all those parts of his heart would die with the boy – at least for a time. And it might take hundreds or thousands of years for him to again be able to breathe without the pain and fury choking his soul.

Norman would live long enough to leave the path of revenge eventually, given the chance. But he could remain on it for generations, burning and destroying as had not been seen since Skullmaster's first war against humanity. And Virgil had no doubts he would do just that, though his targets would be evildoers rather than innocents. But still. When he was done, even Virgil did not know how much of the Guardian's enormous capacity for love would survive.

 _So much depends on you, Mighty One_ , Virgil thought. _Please live. Please keep your soul intact until we can reach you. The world that will awaken should we lose you is not the one you have fought to protect. Please. Please live. If not for the world, then for Norman. For me._

 _Please don't leave us._


	11. A Last Ounce of Courage

Okay. Brace yourselves. Have tissues ready, either to wipe your eyes or to chuck at your screen. Or both. Time for everything to go right – or everything to go horribly wrong. Or, again, both.

Thepreciousthing, this one's for you.

Enjoy!

* * *

And the world will be better for this:  
That one man scorned and covered with scars  
Still strove with his last ounce of courage  
To reach the unreachable star.  
– Miguel de Cervantes

-==OOO==-

Max couldn't breathe. He could feel something in his chest that was heavy and strange, and his lungs seemed full of water.

The armor of Talpa let the latest body fall into the arms of a Dynasty soldier for disposal and strode over, heavy feet echoing on the wooden floor. It set the fledgling Crystal of Souls in the coals of the fire beside Max, and the flames instantly changed color to a strange, unnaturally dark hue. Max could feel the fire, splattered with blood, feeding more strength into the crystal. He wondered if it was his own.

"Of _course_ it is. How the _mighty_ have fallen. I could let you die now, _Chosen One_." The armor ran a hand over Max's chest, barely touching it, but Max could feel something swirling around him.

"Go…for it…" Max managed.

"Your lungs fill with your own blood. You will drown soon enough. But that would spoil the fun, don't you think?"

 _Let me die. Please._

Darkness poured from the eyes within the armor and engulfed Max like a cocoon. A flash of hot and cold made every nerve tremble and Max vaguely wondered if this was what it felt like to have a seizure. When the darkness retreated, he could breathe again, though the rest of his body was as broken as before.

"The more powerful I become, the easier it will be for me to keep your body alive," Skullmaster said almost casually. "And as you continue to take in my evil, you may find it _changes_ you. Perhaps one day you will _willingly_ offer me your soul, your powers. Not because I have broken you, but because your spirit has been molded to become _mine_."

Max remembered Dragon Island and shuddered.

 _Is that it? Either I become evil or I eventually give up? Is that all that's left?_

 _Either way, at least it'll be over. And I'll never have to pretend to be a hero again._

-==OOO==-

The portal back to Toyama arrived over the moat against which the less-defensible back of the castle had been built. It was the one angle of attack that was not guarded because the Dynasty soldiers would sink.

"How is this gonna work, though?" Kento had asked immediately before the group enetered the portal. "There was a barrier around the whole place before, remember?"

"But there was none when we congregated on the lawn," Virgil pointed out. "It stands to reason that Skullmaster has grown so powerful, he no longer needs to expend energy to defend his stronghold."

What no one had voiced was the fear that the other reason the barrier had been down had to do with Skullmaster's plans for the innocent civilians he was using against the Mighty One.

So the six warriors, one tiger, and one Lemurian entered the final portal that would drop them into the deep moat of Toyama Castle. Virgil had calculated that the exit portal would actually open under the surface of the still water due to the heavy spring rains that had raised the water level more than usual. He advised everyone to hold their breath and try to surface away from the portal as silently as possible.

Of course, Virgil himself couldn't swim, so just before they emerged from the portal, Norman clamped an arm around him. And then they were in the dark water, no light from the sky penetrating the cold and empty man-made basin. Virgil shut his eyes and held onto Norman, counting his heart-beats while the Guardian swam with the speed and silence of an eel, the five Ronins following after.

They emerged from the water right next to the stone wall beneath the castle's central tower. Norman was careful to pull Virgil's head above water slowly, giving the Lemurian time to take a careful breath rather than a loud gasp. Even White Blaze was silent as his head broke the water's surface.

Norman pointed upwards, earning nods from the others. Then he pushed Virgil onto his back and the wet fowl wrapped his shaking fingers around the various holds Norman's own armor provided. As he could not help climb, he opted to keep a lookout, peering through the shadows for anything that might give away their position.

The Ronins climbed from the water as well, moving steadily along the wet, slippery wall. They knew one missed handhold would send them crashing back into the moat – and making enough noise to alert Skullmaster as to their presence. So all five grit their teeth and focused on hands and feet and their muscles protesting the unexpected frigid bath. Wet or not, they could not afford to be distracted, to fall, to fail.

White Blaze remained in the water for now – either to help one of them if he fell, or, more importantly, to wait until the last possible instant to join them at the tower. White Blaze could ascend the castle in seconds, but he could not erupt from the moat silently. He watched them carefully as they moved upward, biding his time until he was needed above.

At the top of the wall, Norman braced his feet and extended an arm to the nearest of the others. Ryo gripped Norman's arm and accepted the Guardian's help hoisting him up to the lowest roof-line of the Castle. From there, Ryo perched on the edge of the roof, alternately keeping watch at the windows nearby and offering a hand to the next to be propelled upward. Only when all five Ronins were safely on the lowest roof did Norman haul himself up easily and silently with one hand. From there, the Guardian led the way along the black roof tiles to where the slope angled upwards to the next story, an easy climb up the tower.

Virgil suddenly poked Norman hard and pointed at a pair of the Dynasty guards who were standing watch on the edge of the second-story roof. Norman nodded and eased Virgil from his back to the roof-tiles before he swiftly made the leap up to the pair of guards.

Rather than risk the ringing sound of metal on metal, Norman dispatched them by the simple expedient of ripping their helmets off.

While the demons inside dissipated silently, Norman eased the armors to lie on the roof-tiles, catching the chain weapon one had carried and using it to tie them in place so they would not slide off. Virgil waited patiently for Norman to give the signal for the rest to continue on, not entirely surprised when Kento pulled the Lemurian onto his own back to make the climb so Norman could stand ready for an attack.

In moments, they stood outside the broad windows of the room in the tower where they knew Skullmaster waited.

Ryo glanced at his team. Even silent, the others could hear the question in his mind. _Are we really ready for this?_

Kento gave him a thumbs-up and flashed a smile. _Ready when you are._

Rowen nodded. _We're with you._

Sage quirked a slight smile. _We won't give up, no matter what._

And Cye squeezed Ryo's shoulder briefly. _I believe in you and I believe in us._

In the meantime, Virgil had extended an arm to Norman and the Viking correctly interpreted his wordless request and lifted him from Kento's back so they would enter together. Though there was a slight film of dark energy clinging to the window, Virgil pressed close enough to the barrier to peer through the slats into the room beyond.

What he saw was blood and the evidence of mangled bodies.

Virgil turned, stricken, to Norman. The Guardian's face closed down entirely into a mask of such rage and violence Virgil felt his own heart skip a beat. But he eased himself against Norman for balance while the Ronins took their place at the center of the window.

This was the part of the plan that even Virgil could not say for sure would actually work.

The five Ronins edged around on the little ledge until they were all stable. And at the expression on Virgil's face, they silently agreed not to look into the room until they had no choice.

Ryo closed his eyes and thought through Rowen's speculation from the jungle.

"There's a barrier around the tower, but everything's different now. That barrier has some the energy of our armors in it, but we still have the powers of the guiding virtues with us. It's possible that we can use them to change the barrier's polarity, reverse it. Turn the barrier into our own cage to keep Skullmaster from escaping. It'll take everything we've got and it might not work at all, but it's worth a try. Most likely we'll at least break a hole in it so we can get inside."

 _Okay. Righteousness._

Ryo felt himself begin to fall into the power of the virtue that had once infused Wildfire. It felt like sunlight streaming through him, like the wash of heat after a cold wind.

 _Righteousness. Wildfire. I am Ryo of Righteousness. Ryo of Wildfire._

 _And I am not afraid to fight. I am not afraid to fail._

 _I will do the right thing no matter what it takes. And I will defeat Talpa's armor again._

 _I swear._

 _Let my heart be Righteous. Let evil fear my soul._

Ryo's eyes were closed but he could tell he was glowing with a red light, could feel the burning kanji on his forehead. And beside him, the other four were illuminated by their own virtues just as powerfully.

Ryo felt the _snap_ as all five guiding virtues aligned.

 _Now!_

Ryo shoved his hands and all his willpower forward into the barrier, moving in perfect unity with Rowen and Sage and Cye and Kento. Five colors, five virtues, five spirits hit the barrier with pure, determined power.

The window flew apart.

-==OOO==-

Max sensed the explosion of power just before the window shattered inward. He cracked open his hot, swollen eyes and felt sure for an instant that he was hallucinating.

The sight of Norman, Virgil, and the Ronins was so welcome he could barely believe it had happened at all.

"What is this?" Skullmaster roared with surprise. "How did you get in?" Then he turned towards the door where the soldiers had recently vanished to acquire another civilian. "Guards!"

"Not gonna work, big guy," Kento taunted. "This space is _ours_."

Max shifted his gaze slightly so he could see the doorway and, sure enough, though he could hear pounding from outside, the door stood firm as a steel wall in spite of the fact that it wasn't even barred.

"Mighty One!" Virgil cried out with anguish, speeding across the floor towards his boy.

"You will all die!" Skullmaster's voice boomed.

Norman, looking utterly _insane_ with rage, charged to where Talpa's armor was aiming for Virgil and slammed into it like a bellowing, rampaging elephant. But Talpa's armor recovered quickly and spat black fire across the room.

Virgil was rescued from disaster by Cye who caught him around the waist and pulled him behind one of the heavy wooden pillars in the room for cover. The other Ronins also ducked. Norman merely charged through it, barely singed and more livid than ever.

A moment later, White Blaze burst into the tower from the window and sped impossibly quickly to the fallen Mighty One.

"Is he alive?" Virgil demanded over Skullmaster's bellowing fire and Norman's furious shouting. He very nearly threw Cye's grip from him, but the young man held firm. " _Is he alive_?"

White Blaze had reached Max. Max blinked dully at the tiger, almost not comprehending. "…buddy…?" he whispered.

"He's alive," Cye caught the word in spite of the chaos. "Virgil, he's not dead."

 _I wish I were. I should be_. Max flopped his head towards the pile, the actual pile of body parts from Skullmaster's victims, all of whom had been slaughtered because of his own refusal, his own powerlessness. His own failure. _I failed. I failed and they died. I can't_ …

Suddenly White Blaze snarled. He pivoted on his front feet and neatly kicked the cloud of darkness that had been creeping over Max's body from the fire since he'd been dropped on the floor. As the tiger's paws hit the mist, it vanished.

Max felt a tiny piece of his mind return. _Skullmaster's power. In my head. That was how_ …

And then White Blaze stretched out beside Max's broken body and settled to the ground, curling himself over the Mighty One.

"He'll take care of him him!" Ryo told the others and tried to reassure Virgil. "We've got to take out Skullmaster while we've got the chance!"

The five Ronin Warriors abandoned their positions and rushed for the suit of armor that Norman was hacking at with all his strength. As they ran, they picked up items from the room around them – a discarded sword, a length of chain, a decorative spear from the wall – anything that could be used as a weapon. They rushed into the hurricane battle between Norman and Skullmaster, not caring that what they carried had as much chance against Talpa's armor as a feather.

Because, charged with their virtues, anything in their hands would be stronger than it seemed.

Kento arrived first with a heavy metal chain, which he struck against the armor's shoulder. When the blow caused Talpa's armor to momentarily freeze as a flash of orange filled his vision, he grinned.

"It'll work!"

"Of course it'll work!" Rowen shot back, landing a lateral strike with a discarded spear.

"Talpa's armor never could handle us!" Ryo yelled, slamming a piece of wood into the armor's side.

"Not when we work together!" Cye jabbed the business end of a broken naginata at the armor's back.

"My turn!" Sage shouted, and the other Ronins cleared out of the way of the master swordsman – though Norman had not let up his assault yet and barely seemed to notice their presences. Sage raised a pilfered katana above his head and struck, a bright flash of green momentarily filling the tower.

Talpa's armor stumbled and Skullmaster shrieked in pain. But he spun away from all of them and sprinted across the room, heading to where Max lay tucked against White Blaze.

"Your pitiful strength is _nothing_ to my power!" Skullmaster shouted. "Without the Ronin armors, you can do nothing to harm me!" The head of Talpa's armor pinned Norman with eyes that blazed. "And you, Guardian, are as helpless as the child you failed to protect!"

And suddenly a _burst_ of white light erupted from the floor.

Everyone, even Skullmaster, had to look away for a moment. When they looked back, White Blaze was breathing heavily, barely able to stand. But Max climbed to his feet unsteadily.

He was still hurt – that much was obvious. The worst of his broken bones had been set, but Virgil's eagle-eye spotted multiple places that the bones were not quite aligned. _Bai Huo has done less healing than it seems, but has certainly blocked much of his pain. The Mighty One must be littered with fractures. But he can move. Is that the power of White Blaze, or the Mighty One himself?_

Feeling tears of relief on his face, Virgil swept the Cosmic Cap from within his robes and sent it spinning into the air. "Mighty One!"

Max looked up and managed a half-smile even as he snagged the Cap out of the air and set it on his head once more. "Thanks, Virg. I needed that!"

The Cap had never been so welcome, and Max had never felt so unworthy to wear it.

 _But if I'm going to do anything, I need it. Maybe...maybe the Cap-Bearer can succeed where the Mighty One failed._

Skullmaster started to charge for the boy, but Norman intercepted him and re-engaged in their vicious battle.

"White Blaze!" Ryo cried, and the Ronins broke off their attack to reach the tiger who had half-crawled towards them.

"I think he's okay," Rowen said as he ran a hand over the tiger's body. "Just exhausted from helping Max."

"What's the plan!" Max yelled across the tower to Virgil – he couldn't get any closer without having to dodge past Skullmaster, and there was _nothing_ on earth that could give him the courage to do that, not right now, not yet. Maybe not ever.

 _Please have a plan, Virg. Please. I can't do this. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. Anything to stop him. Just don't trust me to be able to do it on my own. I can't._

"I…I am not sure, Mighty One," Virgil admitted from his own place. He, too, yearned to get to his boy, but he was stopped by the furious battle in the center of the floor. "We hoped that the guiding virtues held by the Ronins would be able to overcome Talpa's armor."

"Ha!" Skullmaster crowed. "I always did outplay you in chess, old friend." He kicked at Norman and sent him careening into a corner. "My armor's power is linked to that of the seed crystal, and that has been absorbing souls by the thousands and blood by the gallon. Even those paltry human virtues will never be able to prevent me from raising a dark power to rival that of my Master!"

And finally, _finally_ Max understood what he needed to do.

As sudden confidence washed through him, bringing with it the power of destiny he knew so well, Max bolted for the small crystal cooking in the embers behind the battle.

"No!" Skullmaster roared, turning the armor's head, but Norman threw a heavy chair that tangled in Skullmaster's legs, allowing Max to beat him to it.

"Hey guys!" Max yelled. He spared just one instant to brace himself before he plunged his hands into the coals. The heat – and also the evil magic – burned his flesh with a searing pain that echoed through his very bones.

But Max grit his teeth and pulled out the crystal anyway.

"Time to decide if you want those armors back!" Max yelled. But while his voice was nearly alight as usual, his heart was darker than it had ever been.

 _Please just let me get through this without them knowing. Without them seeing. I don't want them to try to stop me. Not this time_.

Skullmaster laughed, rising from the broken pieces of chair. "Yes, Cap-Bearer. Return their armors and you return their evil and my power over them!"

Max shook his head, affecting more courage than he felt. "I don't think so, Boneface. You already took all that evil into your own armor to make it stronger. Which means as long as the armors have pure virtues to latch onto, there's no reason for them to carry evil anymore ever again!"

Skullmaster lunged for Max with a bellow and Max dove out of the way.

He looked up to where the five Ronin Warriors stood, staring. He had to unstick his throat, but he managed the jaunty words, "Guys, now's the time!"

He squeezed his hands around the crystal for a brief instant, in spite of the fact that they felt charred to the bone. The pain didn't matter anymore, not in comparison with everything else.

 _Please. Please give them back their powers and set the people free. Please undo what I've done. I give you my life even though it isn't enough to make up for everything. Take my soul – I'll offer it freely. Just please make this right_.

Max let the crystal fall and sensed his inborn power amassing with a shuddering sort of finality.

Skullmaster in Talpa's armor was sprinting towards him.

The crystal hit the floor dully with a heavy, thick sound.

Max closed his eyes. _This is all I can do_.

Skullmaster howled.

And Max smashed his foot down on the crystal as hard as he could, his heart alight in hope and fear and dreadful, _dreadful_ sorrow.

The crystal exploded.

The blast knocked Max backwards and punched the air from his lungs. He could tell even with his eyes closed that light was streaming from the crystal's shards, and he could hear the voices of thousands and thousands of souls shouting in relief as they were released.

"Mighty One!" Virgil was calling worriedly.

"I'm…I'm okay. Stay put, Virg." _Please don't put yourself into danger again. Not for me. Not now that I just sold my life away because it's all I had left to offer…and it will never be enough_.

Max pushed his eyes open with an effort. Amidst the escaping souls and where the armor of Talpa appeared frozen as the worst of its power was draining away, Max could see the five Ronins with their hands outstretched. Tiny, winking lights hovered before each, and Max was too far away and probably too concussed to make out what exactly they looked like – but he knew what he would have seen.

 _At least it worked and they're okay. It's over_. He let his eyes slide closed and waited for the end.

Across the room, no one was aware of anything but the humming potential hovering around the five young men. Like tiny stars, the talismans glowed with light, the crests of the five elements shining: Hardrock's crescent, Torrent's yin-yang, Halo's lightning bolt, Strata's shooting star, and Wildfire's four jewels. But though they had returned to their once-bearers, they still held themselves apart.

"They feel different," Cye whispered wonderingly.

"They're free of Talpa's evil forever," Rowen's voice was low.

Kento made a grab for his and it slipped through his grasp. "Then why can't we use them?"

"Perfect elements for perfect virtues," Sage said. "They only belong to the pure of heart now."

Ryo looked at his own, the symbol for Wildfire measuring him somehow. _I bet if Max were more awake right now, it would be going to him and his Righteousness instead of mine_ , he thought. In fact, Rowen's seemed almost unsteady, shifting in the air between Rowen and where Virgil was not far off. Kento's seemed similarly uncertain, edging away from him and towards Norman. But Sage's and Cye's were steady.

Ryo wondered if he should let the armor go to the Cap-Bearer after all.

"Don't," came Virgil's voice suddenly. Ryo looked at where the ancient fowl was approaching them, his eyes flicking to where Max had collapsed. But he stopped beside the five young men because he could not leave something of this import undone.

Sure enough, Rowen's shifted until it hung between them.

Rowen met Virgil's knowing eyes with a nod.

"They are _your_ destiny, not ours" Virgil said. "They are yours by right, not by birth or by your deeds, but because they are your gifts. You can refuse your destiny if you wish. They will find other bearers in that case. But they are yours first."

"And you better decide fast," Norman put in. The crystal was starting to dim as the last souls were drawn from it, and Skullmaster in Talpa's armor was beginning to move again.

Ryo glanced at the others. "It's all or nothing, guys. Either we all take them right now or we let them go. But we _have_ to do this as a team. We have to _choose_ this as a team."

Rowen, Sage, and Kento all exchanged uneasy glances.

It was Cye who let out a long, suddenly relieved breath. "He's right. This _is_ exactly where we belong." Then, turning his eyes on the others, he actually winked. "And since I really do have _Faith_ in all of you…"

His forehead began to glow. As the kanji flashed to life, the color of the power of Faith washed from his skin to the talisman until both shone with a warm light.

"Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!"

"All right!" Kento cheered as his own forehead began to glow. "Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!"

"Well, it's about time," Rowen grinned, the light in his eyes as bright as the kanji on his brow. "Armor of Strata! Dao Chi!"

Sage shot Ryo his own private smile. "I suppose you got your answer, Ryo. I hope you can live with it. Armor of Halo! Dao Rei!"

"Yeah," Ryo felt himself fill with joy and gratitude and a sense of duty that was no longer so heavy. "I definitely can live with this." And the heat that flared into him was the warmest, purest light he'd ever known. "Armor of Wildfire! Dao Jin!"

The five crests vanished in a burst of radiance.

And when the glow dimmed, the five Ronin Warriors stood, fully armored and never as united or as powerful. The shadow was gone from the armors, the evil purged for all time. They were incandescent with the power of their elements and virtues. The power of the very world they had sworn to protect.

The power of the bond that held them, and the brotherhood they had forged.

"You better get out of Talpa's leftovers, Skullmaster!" Ryo declared. "'Cause when we're through, there won't be enough left to armor an ant!"

"Destroying the armor won't destroy me, you fools!" Skullmaster's voice still boomed, but the Ronins could hear that it was weaker now.

"We don't have to destroy you," Sage told him. "That's not our job."

"Yeah! The Mighty One's got that covered!" Kento added.

Cye smiled. "And when that time comes, Skullmaster, you don't stand a chance."

"But putting an end to Talpa once and for all is _our_ job," Rowen said.

"So let's get to it!" Ryo stretched out his arms even as the other four Ronins opened their hearts. "Armor of Inferno!"

And as the Armor of Inferno, five powers as one, wrapped around him, Ryo could feel the difference a thousand times more keenly. Wildfire had felt alive and joyous and powerful now that it was free. The Armor of Inferno, with no guiding virtue of its own and driven by the strength of the five virtues that created it, had always been raw power and force.

Now, that rawness had become unity.

And when Ryo reached for where he knew Black Blaze would be and drew the Swords of Fervor, he also knew his power would never be the same. For the Inferno was not a focus for rage. Not anymore. And neither would it's attack.

Ryo raised his blades.

" _Light of Inferno_!"

The blaze of power was too much for even Ryo to withstand and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

There was a horrible squeal of tortured metal.

And when the swords fell still in his hands, Ryo opened his eyes to see the last ashes of Talpa's armor crumbling to dust and blowing away in the wind that ripped through the hole in the tower's wall.

Ryo spun in place, his head thrown back in a triumphant cry. He could feel the last evil of Talpa leaving the world, could feel that which even the Ancient One hadn't been able to destroy slipping away for all time.

Ryo's hand met four other hands in a triumphant high-five. "We did it! We did it _together_!"

While the Ronins whooped and cheered their success at last, Virgil had already scrambled to Norman's side as the pair sped across the room to where Max lay like a broken doll. It hadn't seemed so bad a few moments ago, but now, somehow, they both _knew_.

Knew terribly and acutely that Mighty Max had no intention to rise again. Between one moment and the next, they could feel him pulling away from them.

How could they bear to lose him having only just found him again?

"Mighty One," Virgil whispered, dropping beside his boy as horror crept into his heart.

"No...not after everything…" Norman bent over Max, lifting his head with a hand as gentle as a butterfly. "Open your eyes, Mighty One."

Max stirred very slightly. "Let…let me go…" he whispered.

" _Never_ ," Norman's whisper was fierce and raw with emotion. He drew the boy more fully into his arms and held him against his chest. "We just got you back."

Virgil's feathered hands came up to touch Max's cheeks, brushing soot and dried blood away from the eyes that were still wet. "Mighty One…Max…you have the same choice they did." His voice was soft and kind. "I…I still don't want you to die. But if that is your will…"

"It's not your fault, Mighty One," Norman said. "None of what happened is your fault. You…you saved the world. Again."

Max revived a little at that, his slack face taking on a slight expression as his eyes leaked. "What…cost?" He shifted, the barest motion of shaking his head. "Call…another chosen one. I'm not…"

"You _are_!" Virgil was close to shouting. "You _are_ the Cap-Bearer, the appointed Chosen Mighty One who will save this world time and again! You _are_ worthy of it! No matter what evil happens, _you are still a hero_!"

"You promised us you were willing to live for the world," Norman said with urgent agony. "Don't…don't give up now."

"Too…late," Max whispered. "Gave up my…something…to smash the crystal."

"We can fix it."

Virgil's head swiveled to see the five Ronins, still in their full armor, looking down at the trio. Ryo had pulled off his helmet and he was regarding them with tears in his eyes.

"We can save him," Ryo said, "but it's got to be his choice."

"His heart is pure," Cye whispered. "The armors will heal him."

"But not without his will to live," Rowen finished.

"Hear that?" Norman could barely breathe. "Just…choose to stay. And you'll be okay."

"No," Max muttered. "Never…okay again."

"That may be true," Virgil felt his voice break. "But…" Virgil's hands lifted Max's head very slightly so he could duck under the brim of the Cap and bring their faces so close his beak was almost touching Max's nose. "But I…wish you would try."

The movement of the Cap seemed to trigger a cascade of memories as Max's fading thoughts spun.

 _But I'm just a kid…_

 _A powerful spirit will overcome any obstacle._

 _His name…was Maximus._

 _You will know the meaning of pain, Cap-Bearer._

 _What is your fate, my final arrow?_

 _I'm the Guardian! It's what I do!_

 _You have failed!_

 _Maybe I'll come back as a butterfly._

 _Every person has a gift, and in their gift lies their destiny._

 _Go, brave one. Be good._

 _You are a true hero._

 _Your gifts will bring destruction and death!_

 _More than being willing to die for this, I'm willing to live for it!_

 _Fear not the gifts that are offered to you, nor those you bear within._

 _You will bow before me, not only in the present, but in your memory and forevermore!_

 _I can die trying!_

Virgil could feel Max slipping away, could feel his body growing cold as his spirit surrendered. But not to the wounds of the battle and Skullmaster's tortures, though they were horrific enough. It was the damage done to Max's heart and soul that were killing him more cruelly than any blade.

 _Can this truly be the prophecy? For him to come so far, achieve so much, and for Skullmaster still to find a way to destroy the boy in the end?_ Virgil wondered with despair.

"Virgil…" Norman's voice was small and helpless. " _Do something_!"

Never moving an inch from Max's face, Virgil whispered back, "I cannot, Norman. It _must_ be his choice." He closed his eyes against tears. "This isn't like before. If he gives up now, there's no power in any world that will call him back."

White Blaze, who had pushed himself closer to them in spite of his exhaustion and obvious strain, crouched down to where he could clearly see the boy around his guardians and began to whine low in his throat.

Suddenly Cye spoke, repeating Max's words from what felt like months before but was, in reality, only hours. "It's hard to keep up believing in yourself when you've got evidence right there that it isn't working out so well. Faith has to be earned." He gulped.

Sage bowed his head. "I believe in you, Mighty One."

"Me, too," Kento said.

"I can't make you believe in yourself, but I trust you, Max," Rowen's voice was tight.

"You've earned my trust, too," Cye whispered.

"If there's anything left inside you to believe us," Ryo's words were tinged with sorrow and hope mixed terribly together, "then fight. We need you. The world needs you. It won't be easy. It'll be the hardest thing you've ever done. And you'll want to give up again and again." A tear fell. "But you were brave even when I gave up. And I know you can be brave again."

Even White Blaze gave a little roar, a strange, echoingly solemn sound.

Max stirred slightly in Norman's arms, opening his eyes to meet Virgil's – the light within almost extinguished.

"Yes, Mighty One," Virgil whispered fervently. "I still believe in you. I would rest my life and the very world in your hands as always. You are still a true hero. And…you…mean a great deal to me, Max." He drew in a shuddering breath. "Please try, my boy."

Max shifted his weight, but Virgil and Norman knew his every twitch. Virgil drew back a few inches so Norman could tip Max up to meet his own eyes.

"You are the bravest, strongest warrior I have ever known," Norman said, his words true but his voice wretched with grief. "I will be your Guardian for all time and I…I will never leave you again. I will _always_ believe in you."

If anything, Max's eyes clouded further. Norman stifled a gasp, fearing he was about to witness the end. But instead, the boy's eyes filled with tears.

He could barely speak above a whisper. "Not…worth it. But…"

Hope blazing in his chest, Virgil latched onto the boy's shoulders.

Max let his eyes slide closed. "Okay. Bring on…round three."

"Hurry!" Norman roared.

The Ronins needed no urging. The five of them gathered around the trio, each stretching an armored hand to the boy whose life was slipping away.

Ryo reached for the heart of his power. _Righteousness_

Kento focused on the desperate need for the Mighty One in the world. _Justice_.

Cye believed in Max with all his soul. _Faith_.

Rowen filled himself with the energy of life. _Wisdom_.

Sage was unashamed that he wept with gratitude. _Grace_.

Five symbols lit up brightly, five virtues solidified as almost tangible things surrounding each bearer of the armors. Five armors glowed intensely.

And a warm light washed over the Mighty One. When it retreated, his body was whole again.

"He'll sleep for a while," Rowen said after a moment. "He'll need it."

"He'll need a lot more than that," Sage said, looking at Virgil.

"We'll help if we can," Kento offered.

"But with time and help and loyal friends," Cye added, "he'll be all right in the end."

"He's strong enough to face anything," Ryo finished.

"Of course he is," Norman said, holding the precious boy and letting his tears of relief fall freely. "He's the Mighty One."

Virgil stepped back enough for Norman to rise, but he never took his hand from Max's. "He truly is."


	12. Always

One more chapter after this one and then we'll be on to a couple of oneshots to deal with the fallout of everything. Because there are stages to survival, and they cycle around and ease up and come back twice as bad again. But one thing is this – healing is always possible while one keeps one's courage, no matter how long it takes. And of everything Skullmaster broke in our Mighty One, he could not break Max's courage.

This chapter got written almost in its entirety before I'd even gotten halfway through the story. Seriously, I wrote this part before Skullmaster even locked Max up inside the armor. Really, for me, the climax was never the fight. It was always this aftermath.

Enjoy!

* * *

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it – always. – Mahatma Gandhi

-==OOO==-

Max sat on a wooden dock that extended out into the lake. He dangled his legs off it, kicking idly at the water with his bare feet. He'd been awake less than an hour – just long enough to realize that he was back at the manor house where he'd checked his email alongside the Ronins before journeying to Toyama Castle. Just long enough to realize he didn't feel up to talking to anyone.

He'd crept into the hallway from a small bedroom with a desperate sort of stealth. He could hear Virgil a few rooms away, talking on the phone to Max's mom from the sound of it, and he shied away. A bustle of conversation from below told Max that the other Ronins were there, and the feminine and high, young boy's voices indicated that they'd found their friends and were filling them in on everything that had happened. It was a story Max couldn't stand to hear, and neither could he yet face his own friends.

He'd turned the other way, spotting a window through a darkened room that let out alongside a tall tree. It should have been harder than it was to ease the window open silently and climb to the nearest branch from the windowsill. He'd slid to the ground behind the cover of the tree trunk and taken off – never looking back.

It wasn't until he was out of breath and the only sounds were those of the quiet woods and water that he had realized the Cosmic Cap was perched on his head.

Along the shore of the lake was a clear path, easy to run, which led to an empty dock that had seen better days. Without any boats tied up, the dock was exposed and Max knew it wouldn't take much for someone to see him there alone in the middle of the lake, but he needed that openness, too. Needed air and light and yards and yards between him and the nearest shadows.

 _I'm going to be claustrophobic for a while_ , he thought idly as he walked across the wooden slats. _Kind of obvious, I guess. I'm not surprised_.

As he dropped his feet into the water, he felt a prickle of pain and pulled his right foot back up. He hadn't bothered to find his shoes or socks before his flight from the house, and apparently his frantic run had torn a small gash in the bottom of one. But the gash was no more than raw skin turning slightly pink.

He couldn't help it – he suddenly laughed a little hysterically.

 _All that blood. And now it's over and there isn't a drop on me_. He looked at the clean, unfamiliar shirt and pants he'd found himself wearing when he woke _. Nothing wrong. Nothing broken. And then I go and tear a nice new cut that barely even hurts. Figures. Feels like something should still be bleeding_.

 _Maybe everything should still be bleeding._

Max pulled the Cap off and held it in his hands.

He wanted to hate it.

He wanted to blame it.

Max could do neither.

 _I know in my head that Skullmaster did those things. Not me. I know in my head that every bad thing he did is his fault and not mine. I know in my head that I couldn't have done anything more than I did to try to stop him_.

He gripped the Cap tightly.

 _And I know that someday my heart will believe what's in my head. But not today_.

Max drew the Cap to his chest and held it against him as if it were the only real thing in the world. He pulled his knees in and curled down into a huddle.

And cried.

Max cried for the people who had died. For the people who had been hurt and their city ruined.

Max cried for his failure, for the hours of helplessness and pain and fear.

Max cried for all the suffering that was still so near his heart, suffering brought to him by Skullmaster and his evil and his magic and his hate.

Max cried for his mom and Bea and Felix and Norman and Virgil, for everyone who had been scared, for everyone who had believed in him and loved him enough to worry, for everyone he could barely stand to face after all that had happened.

And Max cried for himself. Cried because he would never be the same and he didn't know if he would ever feel whole again.

Cried because he didn't really _want_ to feel whole. At least broken, he would never again live with the illusion that he was okay.

Back at the castle inside Skullmaster's armor, Max had already screamed and raged his grief and pain and horror and so many things that had no words but had bottled up in his chest and burst from him like fire and ice. He'd fought and vomited and bellowed and begged. He'd felt hate and fury and fear and guilt and horror and rage and ugly, destructive emotions he could barely comprehend even now.

This sorrow was different. It was new. It was living sorrow, living guilt. The rage had left him, but the burden remained.

Max knew he would run out of tears long before he ran out of grief.

-==OOO==-

Behind him, a pair of shadows watched from the forest. Max had never been alone, not for an instant. In fact, he'd had at least two watchers at all times, and usually more than that. When Max had crept from the house on bare feet with eyes that shrieked pain, no one had been fooled. But an understanding agreement sent just the two after him, to guard him even now.

Norman and Virgil watched over Max, keeping their distance.

The support Max needed would be there for him when he was ready. But the Lemurian and Guardian each knew with his whole soul that first Max must allow the storm to rage before he attempted to contain it. The boy could not live with a hurricane in his heart. He must first let it consume him. Only then would he be able to anchor to a stable point and begin the long wait for the storm to pass.

-==OOO==-

"So now your armors are truly free of Talpa's evil forever?" Mia looked between Sage and Kento and Ryo. They'd held out their talismans for her to examine and even she could feel a certain difference in them. The power she could sense radiating off the tiny things was still immense, but somehow less frenetic.

"Looks that way," Sage shrugged. "While we were helping clean things up, we all poked and prodded them as best we could, but the…" He trailed off.

"The ick factor was gone," Kento put in.

Sage looked a little sideways at him, but he was smiling slightly. It was a difficult thing to explain to someone who had never donned one of the Ronin armors. Like trying to describe the sensation of losing your shadow. It wasn't exactly something one could _feel_ , but that didn't mean one didn't notice when it was no longer present. Kento's words weren't the most sophisticated, but they did capture the feeling well enough.

"That's amazing." Mia sat back and let the three retrieve the talismans, each carefully tucking them away out of sight. "Even the Ancient One couldn't do that."

"So how'd you guys do it?" Ully asked brightly.

"Honestly? I don't think we did," Ryo admitted.

Mia frowned. "Do you think it was the Mighty One?"

Sage and Kento exchanged knowing looks with Ryo and all three nodded.

Sage closed his eyes. "I think...no one but the Mighty One could have...but the price he paid for it..."

Kento gulped. "He saved the whole world. But...I gotta wonder if it was really worth it to him."

Mia glanced upwards. From the big central room, she could almost see the hallway down which the boy she'd heard so much about was still sleeping – as he had been for the last two days.

And they had been two _awful_ days.

Mia and Ully had no solid memories of their time under Skullmaster's control. They'd been watching events from the manor for a few hours when suddenly it was as though they'd fallen asleep. Both had experienced vague sorts of dreams, but nothing either could really recall. Mia had described it as a sense of confinement and noise without anything making sense.

But when awareness had rushed back to Mia, she'd been able to look up in time to find herself in a crowd of similarly-disoriented civilians staring towards the direction of Toyama Castle. A flare of light so bright it seemed to disintegrate the clouds had shot from the tower, driving away the heavy shadows that filled the sky. Mia had also been astute enough to spot a few of the Dynasty soldiers instantly turn to dust that vanished as daylight poured down upon them.

Mia had found Ully in the crowd – he'd been only yards from her – and they'd fought the rising panic of the citizens to rush to the castle where they knew somehow their friends had just won a victory.

But when they arrived at the big front gate…well, it didn't feel like a victory.

The five Ronins, while clearly triumphant and their armors undamaged, had looked pale and heartsick. An enormous man introduced as Norman had hefted in his arms the small body of a boy who was pale and clearly unconscious but unhurt, though his clothing was absolutely soaked in blood. Beside them, White Blaze looked a little greyer than usual, and he seemed restless as he moved clumsily between Ryo and Norman. And, of course, it had taken rather a lot of quick explanation for Mia and Ully to even begin to understand about the fowl named Virgil who never strayed more than a hand-span from the boy, the Mighty One, in Norman's arms.

Ryo had given an order for Mia and Ully not to go up into the castle no matter what, and his tone of voice had been so sharp it brokered no argument. While Ully fussed over White Blaze, the Ronins quietly informed Mia of the dead in the castle, their bodies broken by the demon Skullmaster who had taken command of Talpa's armors. In a few whispered words, Mia grasped the basic outline of the tale of the Mighty One's tortures and the ultimate defeat of Talpa's evil.

But there wasn't really time for more than the simplest facts. Norman and Virgil had wanted to get away from the crowds before any officials appeared to secure the situation – they, like the Ronins, had no intention of answering questions about what had transpired. Mia had offered the use of the manor for them to rest, and though the pair seemed anxious to leave Japan, Cye had said something private to Virgil which convinced them to remain nearby. Mia had sent White Blaze and Ully with them, the tiger able to support the slight combined weight of the boy and the Lemurian, and Norman had jogged along behind, never relinquishing his grasp of the Mighty One.

While government and city officials swarmed the castle and began removing bodies, the five Ronin Warriors had used their superior strength and agility to get into the skyscraper whose top section had been blasted to ruins by Skullmaster. Well into evening, the five had tirelessly moved beams and done what they could to keep the building from falling or posing a danger until construction crews could arrive with cranes to begin the repair work properly. They'd also uncovered more bodies, which they carefully extracted and placed where they could be found and identified.

At last the Ronins had been forced to leave by the approach of more officials, and they had followed Mia back to the manor house where Ully reported the strange trio had closed themselves in an upstairs room and had not emerged. They had, however, let White Blaze in and out as he wished; apparently the tiger was alternating between patrolling the house's perimeter and joining the vigil over the boy's bed. The Ronins had fallen into the bedrooms they'd used in the past, refusing any offer of food and saying little overall. Mia had told Ully to let them take their time and she was sure they would explain everything.

By morning, the news was reporting on the "incident" in Toyama including a great deal of wild speculation as to what exactly had occurred. The leading theories involved a cult of terrorists and some form of aerially-dispersed chemical warfare. The death tolls were reported and Mia realized sickly that almost as many people had been found dead in the castle as in the building that had been partly destroyed. The total losses were less than fifty lives, with thousands of confused and frightened civilians panicking in the streets still, but it made Mia ill to think of all those bodies piled up in the relatively small castle where her friends had been fighting.

The Ronins had observed the news in silence before taking off and even Mia didn't know where they had gone – she suspected they were returning to the city to see if there was more they could do to help. At some point, the fowl named Virgil had emerged from upstairs to get some food and water and he had provided more in the way of detail to Mia and Ully, telling them about the Mighty One, Skullmaster, the war that had spilled into Toyama, and the actions that had led to victory.

And Mia listened to what Virgil didn't say – what he didn't say about all that time Max had been alone with a monster, and what he didn't say about how the boy had been so completely covered in blood without a scratch on him, and what he didn't say about why so many, many people were found dead in a gory pile in the tower – and drew some of her own conclusions. She offered Virgil some clean clothes for Max and a basin with which to wash him and Virgil accepted both gratefully.

But she noticed that Norman never left Max's side, and any time Virgil was out of the room above, White Blaze was not. And at least once Mia thought she'd caught sight of a flash of blue armor as well. Wherever else they were, Mia felt sure her friends were still watching over the one who had helped them save the city and probably the world.

By evening all five Ronins returned, though they were still subdued. With the unending sleep from the Mighty One above, the Ronins and White Blaze settled into a rotation of their own, at least one of them outside the door of the room into the night. In fact, the longer Max slept, the more of them gathered near to watch over him.

By the second morning, though, everyone seemed to be slowly returning to normal. The Ronins were talking more than they had been, even joking a little. They didn't venture out this time, Kento mentioning that they would be in the way now and there weren't as many places left that they could sneak in and help without being caught, and by lunchtime, though still more quiet than usual, all five seemed mostly back to their usual spirits.

Mia was surprised when Rowen and Cye – who had been outside Max's door for the last few hours – appeared downstairs just as Kento finished speaking.

"He's waking up," Cye reported.

"We didn't want to crowd him," Rowen added. "Virgil and Norman backed off, too. They went down the hall to call his mom."

Ryo nodded. "He's been through enough. We should give him time before he has to deal with everybody."

And a few minutes later, Virgil, Norman, and White Blaze came downstairs, too. Norman did not pause, instead striding straight out the door, but Virgil stopped long enough for a brief explanation.

"The Mighty One needs some time alone. He has gone for a walk. We will stay with him to protect him. If we do not return by the dinner hour, please send Bai Huo after us." And then he, too, was gone. White Blaze went to sit by a window, staring out at the sky.

"Cye?" Ully looked up at him. "Is he going to be okay?"

The bearer of Torrent sighed a little, ruffling Ully's hair. "He's going to have a tough time of it. Max isn't scared of fighting, but Skullmaster did a lot worse things to him than that. We have to be patient with him and give him a chance to heal, okay?"

"Sure. But is he _really_ going to be okay?"

"Yes, he will," Ryo put in firmly. "He's braver than all of us put together in some ways."

"Why do you say that?" Mia asked.

"Because he never gave in," Rowen said softly. "No matter what Skullmaster did to him…or to anyone else, Max never let his power fall into Skullmaster's hands if he could help it. A lot of people got hurt, but there's no telling how many more would be dead or worse right now if he hadn't fought every second he was there. That kind of courage will get him through it in the end. You'll see."

-==OOO==-

Max found his crying slowing less because he felt much better and more out of sheer exhaustion. His chest was heaving and his throat was on fire and his stomach was churning.

And he chuckled wetly.

 _It doesn't even compare. Nothing will ever compare to how that felt_.

It was a sobering and weirdly comforting thought. It gave Max the strength to rally, to take a few deep breaths and rub the salt from his eyelids. He didn't feel better in any easily-identifiable way, but the most immediate pressure had lessened. The lock around his chest and his throat was still there, but he could endure a little more. He was still suffocating, but he knew that air was real somewhere.

The other awareness came a few moments later. Max uncurled his body and put his feet on the dock, rising unsteadily but surely. He turned, already knowing what he would see.

Norman and Virgil emerged from the trees.

Max gulped. If his life depended on it, he couldn't have spoken a word.

Virgil took one step towards the dock but did not set clawed foot upon it. When he spoke, his voice was low and filled with emotion.

"Mighty Max."

Max flinched slightly, his jaw working.

Virgil's ancient, kind eyes were brimming with shadows that had no words as he held out his hands.

"You survived. I am…more grateful for that than I could tell you in any of the languages I know."

Max bit his tongue and forced himself to breathe.

Virgil's voice broke slightly. "I cannot…take away what was done to you. And I cannot…cannot deny you if you blame me."

Max's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"I…I should have realized," Virgil explained, his burning gaze never dropping from Max's even as his outstretched hands shook slightly. "About the Crystal. This…none of this would have happened if I had…"

A pained sound from the fowl's chest interrupted any further words and Virgil stopped, taking a few breaths himself.

"I cannot undo what has been done. I cannot change what you are." His beak moved silently for a few seconds before he could continue.

"But if you ask it of me, I will take the Cap from you."

Max's sharp breath through his nose seemed louder than a gunshot across the quiet expanse of water.

Virgil's voice was shaking. "I…I cannot ask you to do this again. And even if I cannot unmake your destiny, if you ask me…I will try. If you ask me to take the Cap and go away and leave you alone for the rest of your days, I give you my word that I will try."

Max thought with pain of all the times he had begged Virgil to do just that and the Lemurian had refused in the name of prophecy and the safety of the world.

"I know," Virgil whispered, easily reading Max's thoughts. " _I know_. But…you cannot…if you don't want…"

 _You cannot be the Mighty One if your destiny has taken away your will to live_. Max heard it around Virgil's increasingly unsteady words.

"He may still come after you. And I may fail." Virgil coughed and it sounded like a sob. "But give me the Cap and I will try. I just…"

And Virgil's courage failed him. He closed his eyes and ducked his head even as he finished, "I cannot let you be hurt anymore."

Max felt new tears form and fall on the Cap still clutched in his hands.

Somehow, he made his legs remember how to work. Virgil's eyes opened wet with unshed tears as Max painfully stepped along the dock. He did not move quickly, but he did not stop moving until he stood across from Virgil, his whole body trembling with too many emotions to name.

Virgil almost wept with relief when Max pressed the Cosmic Cap into his hands.

But Max caught Virgil's wrists in a grip that did not falter.

Virgil looked into Max's face and saw such pain and heartbreak that he thought he might shatter. The boy was shaking almost hard enough to fall.

And yet Max drew Virgil's hands upward.

Never looking away, never breaking under Virgil's pleading gaze, Max guided Virgil's hands until the Lemurian rested the Cap back on his head.

Virgil fought the impulse to snatch the Cap back, to break the frail and impossibly powerful grip that held him. He'd never known such pride or such grief of his own, such impossible admiration for the courage of a boy who seemed barely alive.

Max released his wrists and Virgil dropped his hands, staring at the boy and his Cap once more. His voice was a hoarse croak. "Mighty One…I…"

Max opened his mouth, swallowing twice before he could even whisper. "Love you, too, Virg."

And Virgil turned away and hid his face because he could not help but weep and he couldn't let Max see it, not with those endless eyes.

Max turned to Norman whose own face was red and wet with tears but who was otherwise still as a mountain.

Max wanted to run.

Norman could see it. Could see the boy flinch from him, could see the trembling of his body grow. His boy had become afraid of him.

He understood it. He had seen warriors less brave than the Mighty One cower from anything that reminded them of a battle that had broken their spirits. Had seen grown men after a lifetime of courage faint at the sound of a bell whose tone reminded them of sound from a living nightmare. Had seen men and women both recall captors who had hurt them in grievous, shattering ways and flinch from any who had the same build or hair or voice.

Skullmaster had always frightened the boy, but it was the dimensions of Talpa's armor that were so like Norman's own, and now the boy could not look at his Guardian without knowing it.

Norman wanted to rip the world apart and revenge himself upon Skullmaster for making his boy afraid of one who was larger and stronger than himself.

He wanted to yank the Cap from his head and chuck it into the lake or down a volcano or out into space – wherever it would go that Max would never again tremble with fear of the Guardian who had failed him.

He wanted to say what Virgil hadn't said but the boy had answered, even though he knew his boy had heard his own heart's loyalty and unwavering devotion even before Stonehenge, even though Norman knew that the words wouldn't matter to Max the way the tears on his face did. But if speaking aloud the love he had for his boy would have stifled even a single beat of this pain, Norman would have shouted it for the next ten thousand years of breath in his body.

But he held still.

Max raised one pale hand, shaking so hard Norman could almost hear his joints rattling.

Norman couldn't hold back the whispered vow, "I will never harm you."

A shadow lanced through the boy's eyes and Norman could see the doubt, the fear that had seized him.

But Max stepped from the dock and put his feet on the grass.

He took three painful, laborious steps, leaning forward as though against gale-force winds, as though he had to fight for every inch onwards. And yet his eyes, locked on Norman's, seemed to draw him forward in spite of his body's terror.

Max touched the palm of his hand to Norman's chest. To his heart.

Norman didn't dare move. Couldn't blink. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't look away from his boy's eyes.

Max gave a whole-body shudder and every instinct in the Viking yelled to draw him close, but he held still, knowing that if he set his boy to flight like a frightened bird he might never get him back.

Max shuddered twice more, but he sucked in a sudden breath. "I trust you, Normie."

The Guardian was _overwhelmed_ by the boy's bravery. Moving carefully, Norman slowly dropped to one knee, shifting as though any sharp motion might break the boy. And with every inch, Max kept his hand pressed to the Guardian's heart. When Norman finally rested at near eye-level with Max, he cautiously lifted his arms.

Max stumbled the last half-step to bring himself into his Guardian's embrace with a low, helpless cry.

Virgil appeared behind him and Norman folded him in as well, the Lemurian giving in to the impulse to wrap his own small arms around the boy.

Max squashed his head against Norman's chest, tangling the fingers of his hands in the feathers of Virgil's arm and the cloth of his robes. He hiccuped harshly enough to almost lose his balance but all his weight was caught between Virgil and Norman and he could no more have fallen than he could have taken off to fly.

The tears came again and Max sobbed, "Please…stay…"

"We're right here," Norman rumbled.

"We will never leave you," Virgil whispered fiercely.

Max wrapped himself in the safety of those who protected and loved him and let the storm break.


	13. The Burden Well Borne

Hi all! We've reached the end of this story, but no worries – there is more to come. There will be 3 more weeks of connected stories dealing with how Max heals from his experience and what he decides to do next. Then, after a week off from posting (I'll be spending 4 days at the yearly massive choir concert and auction), I'll be putting up something Max-related, but not part of this series.

It's a fairytale. I retold Cinderella, with Mighty Max. And you'll never guess who is what.

Until then, I'm so pleased that you have enjoyed this story. If you're curious, since virtually every story I write has a soundtrack the one for this was:  
"One Last Breath" by Creed  
"Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down  
"And So It Goes" by Billy Joel

In the meantime, I came upon a song that is, I believe, the quintessential Fate Is A Gift song, but you'll have to wait a couple of weeks for me to reveal it.

See you around!

Enjoy!

* * *

"The burden which is well borne becomes light." – Ovid

-==OOO==-

Mid-afternoon found Rowen sitting in a tree along the road, swinging one leg and staring sightlessly towards the horizon.

"Mind telling me what exactly you're doing up there?" Sage called up to him unexpectedly.

Rowen looked down and made a small smile. "Didn't think anybody'd find me out here."

"Apparently not," Sage agreed. He made an agile jump and pulled himself into the branches as well, sitting on a limb opposite Rowen's and leaning against the same tree's trunk back-to-back with the bearer of Strata. "Good thing Kento saw you head in this direction or I'd have gone the wrong way."

Rowen shook his head fondly. "I didn't figure on Kento keeping an eye on me of all people."

Sage spoke low and seriously. "I think it will be a long time before any of us lets up our vigilance over each other."

"Yeah."

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, a slight breeze moving wispy clouds through the blue sky and ruffling the leaves around them.

Finally, Rowen spoke. "I know I said it already, but I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."

"Well, given that I did not, in fact, say anything aloud, I think you can be forgiven for not listening to the advice I failed to voice," Sage replied.

"If we'd talked to Cye before this happened, if we'd taken more care with the evils in the armors, it's possible we might never have been corrupted. And Max would never…all those people…" He swallowed harshly. "I…miscalculated."

"First of all, your virtue is Wisdom, not Omnipotence," Sage said firmly. "And secondly, you can't know that it would have made any sort of difference. I spoke to Virgil. We didn't emerge from the armors until Skullmaster willingly cast us out to absorb their evil directly."

"If we hadn't been corrupted…"

"And you know as well as I do," Sage, rude for once, interrupted, "that our armors were corruptible before without any doubts between us. It was the weakness left over from Talpa that was our undoing, not that which came from our own mishandling of the situation."

Rowen sighed.

"But I think you've really missed the point."

Rowen leaned around the tree trunk, but Sage had his back to him; even so, Rowen would have wagered that Sage was smiling smugly. "Oh, really?"

"Managing Faith is Cye's job, just as managing Wisdom is yours. The more you worry if you handled the situation wrongly, the more likely your own guiding virtue will be weakened. If anything, I would say that this experience should have taught us to trust in ourselves and one another, and not to let our moments of doubt or our mistakes weigh upon us. If Cye had been honest about his guilt over the finishing blow to Talpa sooner, his own Faith may never have faltered. And if you continue to worry about the decision you made, you will put us right back in the same scenario again someday."

Rowen felt like he should say something, but his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"You did the best you knew," Sage said more gently. "And your best effort is more than enough for any of us. Don't tear yourself apart for trying to be a good friend to us all in your own way."

Sage finally moved to face him and Rowen was caught in the direct gaze Sage very rarely turned fully on anyone. He managed, "How…did you...?"

Sage smiled warmly and his eyes softened. "To correctly practice Grace, it is up to me to understand when to accept, forgive, and move on. To know when enough is enough. To be the voice of patience and serenity. I do not know or see as much as you do, but I can clearly tell when the time has come to let go of the past."

Rowen found himself smiling, too. "Good thing we've got you around, then, isn't it?"

"It's a good thing for all of us that we have each other," Sage agreed.

Rowen nodded too before settling back onto his tree-branch and returning to contemplating the sky. Sage's words rolled over and through him several times before he let out a heavy breath and allowed himself to feel the peace that came with accepting the truth of Sage's advice.

"Hey Sage?"

From around the tree-trunk, Sage replied softly, "Yes?"

"Thanks, buddy."

"You're welcome."

-==OOO==-

Figuring with that with the Mighty One finally awake and therefore everyone more likely to be willing to eat properly at last, Kento took over the kitchen to prepare a real dinner; he pressed Mia and Ully into assistance after Rowen and Sage had mysteriously disappeared and Ryo and Cye were keeping a lookout just in case. He was an hour deep into preparing his feast when Ully, having been assigned to wash all the vegetables and pots and everything else they could possibly want, was struck with a thought and abandoned his task to wander up to the bearer of Hardrock.

"Hey Kento?" Ully tugged on the apron Kento had found behind the kitchen door; it was frilly but he didn't care.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Who was scarier? Skullmaster or Talpa?"

Kento frowned. Across the kitchen, Mia looked up from the stack of vegetables she was cutting, but she waited for his answer.

Finally, Kento dropped to one knee, wiping his hands of the flour that coated them. "Why do you want to know?"

Ully fidgeted for a moment before answering, "Well, 'cause Talpa's gone forever this time, right? But Skullmaster isn't. He...could come back, right?"

"I see," Kento nodded. He smiled. "In that case, the answer is…neither."

Ully's eyes went wide. "Somebody was scarier than both of them?"

"Yup." Kento's smile widened.

"Who?"

"White Blaze."

Ully's mouth hung open. "White Blaze? How could he be scarier than Talpa and Skullmaster?"

Kento winked at Mia. "Because neither of them ever _sat_ on Ryo!"

Ully giggled high and bright. "He didn't!"

"Oh yes he did. You better ask Ryo about it over dinner. Or maybe," he leaned forward, "you can get White Blaze to give you a repeat performance!"

Ully grinned. "I'll try it! Thanks, Kento!" And he bounced back to the sink where a few more pots awaited him.

Mia used the cover of Ully's loud pot-banging in the sink to say quietly, "Good idea. Thank you, Kento."

"No problem," Kento gave her a thumbs-up. He looked across to Ully and then nodded to himself. Ully was a brave little kid, but he had had enough fear for one lifetime. Kento had absolutely no intention of creating any more monsters for his little imagination.

An hour or so afterwards, Ryo stuck his head in the kitchen. "Smells good," he commented cheerfully. Then he looked to where Mia was helping Ully load up with plates for the table. "Set three more places, will ya?"

"They're back?" Mia asked, glancing up.

"Yup."

"Are they…okay?" Kento wanted to know.

Ryo's smile was tight, but with sympathy, not fear. "I hope so."

Kento took the last pot of food off the heat of the stove and he and Mia and Ully followed Ryo to peek out one of the front windows.

Outside, Cye had just put his shoes on to go and find Rowen and Sage. White Blaze rose with him and trotted out to the porch where he stopped. Cye glanced towards the lake for just an instant before he strode in the other direction. He thought perhaps the trio making their way along its shore could use even a few more moments of privacy.

Max was walking between Norman and Virgil, his face red and white in blotches but his expression was firm and determined.

At the porch, Max rubbed a hand over White Blaze's head. "Not your fault," he whispered to the tiger.

White Blaze whined low in his chest and licked Max's cheek.

"Thanks, buddy."

And though White Blaze didn't stray far from Max's side, by the time he entered the house, he was able to call out in an almost normal voice, "Anything I can do to earn some of that food? I'm starving!"

Ryo came around the corner with a smile. "Help Mia and Ully set the table. We've got a full house."

While Max was busy with that, Kento and Ryo recruited Norman to carry some of the big pans and plates and pots of food from the kitchen, the Viking surreptitiously stealing tastes of everything within range. Virgil went and retrieved socks and slippers for Max to wear and folded the cloth napkins artfully. By the time Cye returned with Rowen and Sage, everything was ready.

And if Max didn't ever look anyone in the eye and his words dried up again and again as he lapsed into silence, they understood and let him do only what he could handle and forgave the rest.

After dinner, Mia shepherded Ully back into the kitchen to begin cleaning up, catching the knowing looks from just about everyone at the table that the youngest of their number should be absented from what was to come. Even Ully, who was not thrilled with the idea of washing yet more dishes, accepted her urging with a solemn sort of understanding.

Max left the table and moved to one of the plushy couches where he sank down gratefully. Norman stood behind the couch and Virgil took a seat at his side. When the table was clear and Ully was totally occupied at the sink in another room, the five Ronins found places to gather around. White Blaze trotted up and rested his head on Max's lap.

Max looked at his hands as he spoke, and his voice was even in spite of the way his fingers trembled.

"I need to tell you. All of you. I need to tell you everything that happened...and I only want to do it once. But…you deserve to know. We're all going to have to deal with the consequences…probably for a long time. You guys've…got your city to look out for. And…you need to know what I did. And."

He finally looked up, his eyes brimming with tears and his chin shaking faintly, but he kept his voice steady.

"I'm never going to get past it if I don't talk about it. And…I've _got_ to get past it. And…"

He gulped but finished, "There's nobody else I can tell yet besides you guys. 'Cause you were right there with me even when I couldn't see straight. I…I hope you'll understand."

He took a deep breath and began.

-==OOO==-

Much, much later, Cye found Ryo perched up on the roof watching the moon rise.

"How is he?" Ryo asked without turning around.

"He's okay," Cye said, sitting beside him. "I think he's even sleeping. White Blaze is at the foot of the bed and Norman and Virgil are with him, too."

Ryo nodded silently and continued to stare at the pale light slowly transforming the world below.

"Ryo?" Cye's voice was unhurried and warm.

"I don't think I could have done it."

Ryo didn't need to turn to see Cye's eyes on him. He sighed.

"If someone told me they would slaughter an innocent person unless I agreed to give up…anything. I don't think I could do it." His throat felt rough.

"Even if it meant assuring the end of the world?" Cye asked.

"Even then." Ryo closed his eyes and ducked his head. "I'd…I'd want to save them. I'd give anything to keep someone from dying like that."

"If Max had given in to Skullmaster in the tower," Cye spoke softly, "then Skullmaster's power would have grown more than we can imagine. That crystal of his would have been able to obliterate us in a heartbeat. And all that cosmic fabric-of-creation stuff Virgil was talking about would have been in the hands of somebody who would use it for unending evil."

"I know that."

"If Max had given in, there's no telling how many more people would have died or how horribly. And our entire world would be enslaved."

"Yeah, I know that, too."

Cye waited. He didn't have to wait long.

"I couldn't have done it, okay?!" Ryo's voice was suddenly loud and his chest heaved. "I _know_ Max made the best of the worst possible choices! I _know_ there was no other way! I _know_ he was trying to save the world even if the only way to do that was for people to die!"

"Then why are you so upset?" Cye asked carefully. "Unless you're mad at him."

"Mad…at Max?" That brought Ryo up short and he looked at Cye incredulously. "No way! I feel… _horrible_ for the guy. He has to live with this for the rest of his life. Has to live with knowing he willingly got people killed to save the whole world and that he didn't have any better choices. And, honestly, what he did? He saved us all. No, of course I'm not mad at him!"

"Then what is it?"

Ryo couldn't quite turn away from Cye's steady gaze. "If it were me…if I had the choice to watch people line up and die like that or give up the Armor of Inferno…I think I'd give it up."

"And that bothers you?"

"Well, yeah." Ryo frowned. "We both know the Armor of Inferno is really powerful and dangerous. It could destroy the world pretty easily, too, in the wrong hands."

"That's true."

"And if…" Ryo swallowed around his dry throat. "I keep imagining Mia or Ully there, with Skullmaster pointing a sword at them. And…if it would save them, I'd give it up. And…that would be it. The world would end."

Cye's face softened. "No. It wouldn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you already did that once and it worked out fine."

"I…wait, what?"

Cye smiled a little. "You _already_ gave up your armor to Talpa once before. Remember? You took the risk that you could give it to him without losing control of it. And you were right. We were able to defeat him because of it."

"That's different," Ryo shook his head.

Cye nodded. "Yes, it is. Because you did what you were supposed to do, and so did Max."

Ryo's confusion rendered him speechless. Cye turned to look at the moon and explained in his gentle, even tone.

"We all have our gifts and our purpose, Ryo. And we're all going to have to make choices because of that. But the choices won't be the same because _we_ aren't the same. What Max had to do, that's not the same choice you would have to make – because everything leading up to it would be different; so the outcome would be different. You made the opposite choice Max did. And it was the right one for the same reason it would have been the wrong one for Max to make. You've got different jobs. You can't expect to do them the same way."

Cye turned back. "And that doesn't make you a coward or any less worthy of Wildfire or Righteousness, either."

Ryo let out a long breath. "You sure about that?"

"Yes, I am. You know why?"

Ryo shook his head.

Cye smiled with warmth. "Remember how Faith binds and balances the armors?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Which means that I can tell when the virtues are in balance and how well they're aligned. You've always been strong with Righteousness, Ryo. And nothing has changed that. You gave up Inferno, defeated Talpa, and we all got corrupted. But your Righteousness is as powerful as ever. You haven't lost anything and you haven't let any of us down. And you never will."

"How can you be so sure?"

Cye jabbed him with an elbow. "Because I have Faith, Ryo. In you."

"And what if someday I have to…?"

"Then you'll follow what your heart tells you. As long as you carry Righteousness in your heart, it will all be okay in the end."

Ryo huffed and smiled a little, his heart easing slightly. "You're really okay with Faith again, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," Cye nodded. "But it's easier now."

"Why? Is it because there's no evil left in Torrent to make you doubt yourself?"

"Well, actually, no. It isn't that at all." Cye leaned against Ryo's shoulder. "I trust you. I trust Kento. I trust Rowen. I trust Sage. You were all there for me when I couldn't be strong for you. And now I know you always will be. So I'll always be there to be strong for you, too. That's all it is."

"And you're okay with this? With keeping Torrent? With fighting evil for the rest of your life?" Ryo wanted to know, but he had just a hitch of fear for the answer.

Which vanished when Cye nodded. "I will never really like fighting. But I will never let anything happen to this world if I can help it. And now Torrent can really give me the power to protect it. To protect all of you. And that's all that matters."

Ryo leaned back into Cye's weight. "Good to have you back, buddy. It helps me a ton when you trust me, you know."

"I know. And that's why it'll all be okay," Cye answered. "Because we all trust each other. Even a no-win scenario won't ever get in the way of that."

"I hope you're right, Cye."

"I _know_ I am. I have Faith in our friendship. In our brotherhood."

"Yeah? So do I."

-==OOO==-

Max had been back home for a week when he finally crept away from everyone.

Of course, Virgil and Norman had understood Max's request that they explain things to his mom on his behalf, to tell her what they thought she should know. He couldn't bear to do it himself. Even now, Max wasn't sure how much they'd revealed about all that had happened, but the way she watched and hovered told him it was enough.

She'd also set him up with the school's counselor, and when he let himself think about it, Max decided maybe that wasn't a half-bad idea. He needed Virgil to help him be a hero. Needed Norman to help him kick butt. Maybe having a professional to help him fix his head wasn't the wrong way to go.

But none of that kept him from needing to do one last thing.

With Virgil and Norman out for a little while – they'd opted to head back to their home to deal with a few things and then would have Max pick them up at the nearest portal the next day – Max finally had the chance to get out of the house without his extremely protective Guardian dogging his every step. Max secretly suspected part of the reason Virgil and Norman had left at all was that Virgil was starting to worry about Norman's increasing inability to let Max out of his sight.

 _Turns out you kinda had a point, Virg_ , Max thought ruefully. ' _Cause I bet this is exactly what Norman wouldn't want me doing_.

Max had made use of his own portal map to make his way to Hong Kong.

Some fast talking and some sneaking got Max to the hotel roof which was still closed for repair. He wanted, needed to see it. To stand and see where it had all begun.

It was the nearest he could bring himself. Toyama would shatter him, he was certain.

The pool still stood empty, cardboard and warning tape piled thickly at the far end where the windows over the side had been. The deck chairs had all been cleared away to make room for equipment and work-benches for the restoration, but Max had timed it to arrive at dinnertime in Hong Kong so the area was fully deserted. He looked at the remains of what had been strings of lights and streamers and flags and decorations; those that had survived the attack and the reconstruction so far looked feeble and sparse.

Max lowered himself into the empty pool, his sneakers crunching on the bits of glass and gravel that littered it. He walked its odd contours until he reached the cardboard, as near to the spot where the attack had struck as he could get.

He looked up into the early evening sun.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry so many people got hurt because of Skullmaster. Because of what he wanted to do to me. I'm sorry I didn't find another way to fix things. I'm...going to be dealing with this for a long, long time, and...it still doesn't seem fair. Because I'm still here."

He charged on, as if those who had died could hear him. "Anyway. I know we have to do something about the Crystal of Souls. But Virgil thinks that Skullmaster will expect us to come down there soon and he'll be ready. And also I…I can't face him yet. It means he's still pretty dangerous, but Virgil's hoping we can give it just a few months while he builds up power and then we'll sneak down there and take out the Crystal again when he doesn't expect us."

He sighed and his eyes felt hot.

"I don't know how long I can wait. I worry about that Crystal all the time. About what he's doing with it. But I'm not ready yet."

He closed his eyes as a single tear fell. "I'm not sure I'll _ever_ be ready."

But then Max straightened his shoulders and looked up again into the blazing sunset sky.

"But I promise to try. And I promise to fulfill my destiny someday and put an end to Skullmaster once and for all. I _promise_. I…I'm not going to let him kill anyone else if I can help it."

His throat squeezed tight.

"And if I _can't_ help it, I'm sorry for that part, too."

Max extended his hand and let his fingers brush against the cardboard. It was rough and sun-warmed and solid, grounding and reassuring.

"I'm here. I'm still alive. And I'm still the Mighty One. Not just because it's my destiny. Because it's who I really am. And I will never, _ever_ give up. I will never let the world down, no matter _what_ it takes. The world needs a Chosen One. And it's still got one. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

It wasn't the promise of the untried, the innocent, the well-meaning. It was the promise of one whose soul has passed through blood and emerged to keep fighting. The promise of grief and sorrow linked inextricably with joy and love.

The vow of a hero.

"I am the Mighty One. Now and forever. No matter what."

-==OOO==-

The End


End file.
